US stocks closed stronger overnight, putting an end to a four-day losing streak as investors reacted favourably to the latest earnings results and economic data, which showed the services sector expanded for the first time since August of last year.
The Dow Jones industrial rose 112 points to 9,600. The S&P500 Index added 15 points to 1,040 and the NASDAQ rose 20 points to 2,068.
Looking closer at that encouraging economic news: The Institute for Supply Management's index for the US services sector rose to 50.9 in September, crossing the 50 threshold that indicates expansion. The services sector represents about 80% of the US economy.
In company news.Brocade Communications Systems (NASDAQ:BRCD) shares surged 18.82% to $9.09 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the network equipment maker had put itself up for sale.
Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) shares rose 3.93% to $50.75. The company plans to raise prices on most of its machinery by up to 2% next year.
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) shares added 3.79% to $16.96. The Wall Street Journal reported that the bank plans to select an emergency chief executive officer this week, if legal issues force the departing Ken Lewis to leave before the end of the year.
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) shares rose 3.07% to $7.05 after a report in the Financial Times said that a US-led group has entered the race to buy Ford's Volvo unit.
Checking the NASDAQ Top 100: The best performer was Steel Dynamics, lifted 5.16% to $15.08. Joy Global and Seagate Technology and were the next best performers.
The biggest drag was Vertex Pharmaceuticals; it lost 3.46% to $33.78. Amazon and Microsoft also closed lower.
