Back in black! Dow turns positive for 2015
After registering its best monthly return in four years last month, U.S. stocks kicked off November with nice rally as investors react to a batch of corporate deals, fresh economic data and brace for another big week of corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended up about 165 points, or 0.9%, turning positive for the calendar year. The S&P 500 ended 1.2% higher and the Nasdaq composite powered 1.5% higher.
For first time since Aug. 18 the S&P 500 closed above 2100. And that broadly based benchmark — now at 2104.05 — is nearing its all time closing high of 2130.82.
October was a big month for the bulls, with the broad Standard & Poor's 500 stock index rising 8.3%, its best monthly performance since October 2011. Stocks got a lift from a good start to the third-quarter earnings season and the Federal Reserve's decision to hold off on raising interest rates.
Wall Street digested economic reports on U.S. manufacturing and construction as well as a report out of China which showed a manufacturing "contraction" again in October.
Factory activity in the U.S. grew at a slower pace as the Institute for Supply Management reported its manufacturing index fell to 50.1 in October from 50.2 in September. The data shows the sector barely grew as a reading below 50 signals contraction.
The housing sector fared a little better as construction spending rose 0.6% in September to its best level since March 2008.
Factories grow at slowest pace in 2� years; construction spending up 0.6%
In individual stock news:
• Shares of Mexican chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) ended down 2.5% after the company closed some restaurants out West in response to reports of suspected E-coli infection traced to its restaurants in Washington and Oregon.
Oregon official: Chipotle E. coli likely due to contaminated produce
• Dyax (DYAX) saw its stock soar nearly 29% after the Irish pharmaceutical firm Shire agreed to buy the Burlington, Mass.-based biotechnology company for about $5.9 billion.
• Shares of credit card processor Visa (V) fell 3% after reporting quarterly earnings that fell a penny shy of estimates and announcing a deal to acquire Visa Europe for more than $23 billion.
• ConAgra (CAG) sold its private label unit to TreeHouse Foods (THS) in a $2.7 billion deal. ConAgra rose 0.9% and TreeHouse fell 5.6%.
Stocks were mixed around the globe. Shares in China and Hong Kong were dragged down by the weak manufacturing data out of mainland China, with its so-called PMI coming in inline with forecasts at 49.8, according to Barclays, but still below 50, which signals contraction. The Shanghai composite fell 1.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.2%.
"The sub-50 (manufacturing number out of China) still suggests underlying growth momentum remains lackluster," Barclays told clients in a note this morning.
In Europe Germany's DAX was up 0.9% and the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.4% higher.
Adam Shell on Twitter: @adamshell.