August 4, 2009
Wall Street extended early gains Monday, sending the Standard &Poor's 500 index briefly above 1,000 for the first time since early November, as manufacturing activities around the world showed signs of improvement.
The U.S. Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, says its manufacturing index read 48.9 in July, up from 44.8 in June. That's the slowest decline since August 2008 and better than the 46.2 reading analysts had expected.
Latest data from China and Europe also indicated manufacturing is expanding, a sign of support for oil and other commodities like copper. Energy and basic material stocks, therefore, gained momentum and led the market rally.
Financials are among the best performers, after Barclays PLC said its first-half net profit increased 10 percent on stronger earnings from its investment banking division.
Moreover, Ford Motor Co., the only major U.S. automaker to forgo federal aid, also boosted the market sentiment, as the automaker posted its sales climbed 2.3 percent in July, the first monthly sales increase in two years.
The Dow Jones rose 70.44 to 9,242.05. Broader indexes also wenthigher. The Standard &Poor's 500 index added 9.12 to 996.60 and the Nasdaq rose 12.24 to 1,990.76.