Breaking Wall Street Market News & Reports

Stocks surged on the first trading day of September after a report showed U.S. manufacturing showed surprising strength, and after signs emerged of a strengthening global economy. The DJIA rose more than 230 points. All 30 Dow components were higher this morning.

The Institute for Supply Management’s monthly manufacturing index for August came in at 56.3, much better than the expected drop to 52.5 for August. The July reading was 55.5. Construction spending, meanwhile, slumped 1.0 percent in July to $805.2 billion, the lowest level in 10 years, the Commerce Department reported. Figures for June were revised to an 0.8 percent fall, instead of the 0.1 percent gain previously reported.

Earlier Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported applications for home purchassing and refinancing rose last week amid the lowest interest rates since 1990. A report from ADP and Macroeconomic Advisors showed the private sector lost 10,000 jobs from July to August largely due to a drop of 40,000 jobs in the goods-producing sector. The news was offset somewhat by a separate report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing that planned layoffs hit a 10-year low in the month.

Last month saw the worst August performance for Wall Street since 2001 and the first losing August since 2005, after a see-saw day of trading that ended with the Dow eking out a 5 point gain. September is typically one of the worst months of the year for the major stock market indexes, although that was not the case in September 2009.

European and Asian shares were higher after a rebound in Chinese manufacturing boosted investor sentiment. China’s manufacturing economy staged a moderate rebound in August after slowing for several months, according to the data.

What a great way to show optism after gloom and doom the past three months!!