Final composite diffusion indexes of purchasing managers for October are beginning to appear.  Today, Ireland and the U. K. in Europe were heard from, as well as from Japan, India and China in Asia.   Purchasing managers in Ireland were the most optimistic.  The composite diffusion index for the Irish purchasing managers showed the sharpest increase over September, about 2.5 percentage points and is now more than 5 percentage points over the 50 mark that represents expansion.   The indexes for  India and China showed more modest gains, 0.22 for India and 0.39 for China.  As can be seen in the attached graph, the index for India has been fluctuating narrowly around 53 while that of China has been fluctuating narrowly around the 50 mark.

Purchasing managers in the U. K. are forecasting a sizeable decline in activity.  Their composite index shows a decline of 1.61 points, from 51.18 in September to 49. 57 in October.  The composite index of purchasing manages in Japan is also below the 50 mark, but it rose 0.52 points from September to October.

The sampling of the opinions of purchasing managers released today are consistent with a cautious appraisal of the economic outlook