DALLAS, April 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Bank's California Economic Activity Index was unchanged in February, maintaining a level of 119.7. February's reading is 36 points, or 42 percent, above the index cyclical low of 84.1. The index averaged 119.8 points for all of 2015, six and two-fifths points above the average for all of 2014. January's index reading was 119.7.

"Our California Economic Activity Index was unchanged in February, and has been range bound since April 2015. What our index shows is that California is a two-handed economy. On the one hand, overall job growth has been steady and that is a fundamentally positive indicator, supporting most non-manufacturing industries. On the other hand, tech sector stock prices have been stagnant, as have federal defense spending and housing starts in the state," said Robert Dye, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "We expect to see an upside breakout in our California index in the months ahead, supported by the positive outlook for the tech sector and firmer residential construction activity."

The California Economic Activity Index consists of eight variables, as follows: nonfarm payrolls, exports, hotel occupancy rates, continuing claims for unemployment insurance, housing starts, national defense spending, home prices, and the NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index (NDXT). All data are seasonally adjusted, as necessary, and indexed to a base year of 2008. Nominal values have been converted to constant dollar values. Index levels are expressed in terms of three-month moving averages.

Comerica Bank, with 102 banking centers in the key California markets of San Francisco and the East Bay, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Fresno, Sacramento, Santa Cruz/Monterey, and the Inland Empire, is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA). Comerica is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned into three major business segments: the Business Bank, the Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people be successful.

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SOURCE Comerica Bank