Stocks rose on Monday on stronger-than-forecast growth in manufacturing, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest level since December 2007.þþAll 10 groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index advanced.þþThe S.& P. 500 rose 10.57 points, or 0.75 percent, to 1,419.04. On Friday, the index completed its biggest first-quarter rally since 1998. The Dow gained 52.45 points, or 0.40 percent, to 13,264.49 on Monday. The Nasdaq composite index rose 28.13 points, or 0.91 percent, to 3,119.70.þþ“We have solid gains that are likely to be sustained, maybe with some slight pullbacks over coming months,” Eric Teal, chief investment officer at First Citizens Bancshares in Raleigh, N.C., said. “The manufacturing data continue to show signs of improvement. It supports our modest pro-cyclical position.”þþEquities gained as manufacturing in the United States expanded at a faster rate than forecast in March, a sign that industry is weathering slower global growth. The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index rose to 53.4 from 52.4 a month earlier. Fifty is the dividing line between growth and contraction. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had projected the gauge would climb to 53.þþA separate report showed construction spending decreased 1.1 percent in February, compared with the median economist forecast for growth of 0.6 percent.þþ“We don’t see any big negatives that would cause people to run for the hills,” said Joseph T. Keating, who helps oversee $1 billion as chief investment officer at CenterState Wealth Management in Birmingham, Ala. “Easy monetary policies are in place around the globe. Investor sentiment has picked up.”þþCommodity shares rose the most among 10 groups in the S.& P. 500 after a gauge of manufacturing in China signaled stronger demand. A Purchasing Managers’ Index touched a one-year high of 53.1 last month, China’s logistics federation and the National Bureau of Statistics said. Readings above 50 signal growth.þþFreeport-McMoRan jumped 2.8 percent to $39.11. Alpha Natural, a coal producer, rallied 1.7 percent to $15.47. Alcoa added 1.5 percent, the most in the Dow, to $10.17, while Chevron increased 1 percent to $108.30.þþInvestors acquired shares of companies most tied to the economy. The Morgan Stanley cyclical index rallied 0.8 percent. The Dow Jones transportation average, a proxy for economic growth, climbed 1 percent.þþFinancial shares advanced 0.8 percent as a group in the S.& P. 500. Bank of America added 1.2 percent to $9.68, while Morgan Stanley increased 0.9 percent to $19.81.þþAvon, the cosmetics company, surged 17 percent to $22.70 after Coty said it had submitted a nonbinding proposal to acquire the company for $23.25 a share in cash. The purchase price represents a premium of about 27 percent over the three-month average weighted price for Avon shares, Coty said.þþApple advanced 3.2 percent to $618.63 after its new iPad was named the best tablet computer in a Consumer Reports ranking. The magazine said on its Web site that the new iPad’s high-resolution screen provided the best detail and color accuracy of all tablets it had seen.þþThe Hartford Financial Services Group rose 4.1 percent, the third-biggest gain in the S.& P. 500, to $21.95.þþInterest rates were lower. The Treasury’s benchmark 10-year note rose 9/32, to 98 13/32, and the yield fell to 2.18 percent from 2.21 percent late Friday.
Source: NY Times
