WASHINGTON (Reuters) – New U.S. capital goods orders rebounded in March more than anticipated, suggesting strong business equipment spending momentum for the second quarter.

Commerce Department reported Tuesday that non-defense capital goods orders excluding airplane increased by 1.0% last month. It is a proxy for business spending intentions. The core capital goods orders were down 0.3% in February.

Reuters polled economic experts and found that core capital goods orders were forecast to rebound 0.5%.