U.S. factory orders dropped in October

New orders received by U.S. factories dropped 0.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted $420 billion in October, a setback for the manufacturing sector as demand declined across a broad array of goods, a government report on Friday showed.

The Commerce Department said October's decline followed an upwardly revised 3 percent gain in September orders while August orders were flat. Economists surveyed by Reuters had predicted a slightly steeper 1 percent fall in October orders.

In a separate report, a private trade group said Friday that the U.S. service sector grew at a faster pace in November.