U.S. stocks rose on Monday, the Dow Jones and S&P500 reaching 9 month highs, thanks to a better than expected manufacturing report that added to optimism that the economy is starting to recover. And the Nasdaq touched a 10 month peak buoyed by the recent rally in response to stronger than expected company earnings and economic data indicating that the recession may be easing.
On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 115 points to 9,287. The S&P500 Index gained 15 to 1003 and the NASDAQ added 30 points to 2,009.
In economic news: The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index rose to a read of 48.9 in July, up from 44.8 in June. Economists were expecting a rise to 46.5. However the result was still below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction.
And construction spending rose 0.3 per cent in June after falling 0.9 per cent in May. Forecasts were for a drop of 0.5 per cent.
In company news: Shares in automaker Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) rose 4.12 per cent to $8.33. The company says sales rose 2.3 per cent in July, largely thanks to the federal government’s ‘Cash for Clunkers’ incentive program which is helping to boost sales. According to CNN Money Ford is the first U.S. automaker to report a rise in monthly sales since November 2007.
Shares in internet giant Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) advanced 2.07 per cent to $452.21 and shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) climbed 1.86 per cent to $166.43. CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from the board of Apple. Google continues to develop new products that rival Apple’s core businesses.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) shares up 3.58 per cent to $15.32. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says that the bank is to pay $33 million to settle charges that it mislead investors about bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives. The bank completed its acquisition of Merrill Lynch in January.
Aerospace and industrial components manufacturer Barnes Group (NYSE:B) rallied 9.52 per cent to $15.41. The company posted better than expected earnings for the second quarter, however it says the company's transportation and industrial manufacturing businesses have been impacted by the deterioration in the economy.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: the best performer was Steel Dynamics, shares adding 7.58 per cent to $17.60. While Liberty Media and NII Holdings also climbed higher. The worst performing stock was Genzyme shares falling 2.91 per cent to $50.38, followed by O’Reilly Auto and Express Scripts.
