US close: AMC butters investor popcorn as stocks finish higher

Wall Street stocks closed in positive territory on Monday, as a week headlined by corporate earnings and the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting started off with both the ISM and IHS Markit's manufacturing PMIs.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.26% at 35,913.84, the S&P 500 added 0.18% to 4,613.67, and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 0.63% at 15,595.92.

The Dow closed 94.28 points higher on Monday after all three major averages saw out the previous session at fresh record highs.

On the macro front, IHS Markit's manufacturing purchasing managers index expanded at a slightly slower pace in October, with the PMI dropping from 60.7 in September to 58.4 last month, short of a flash estimate of 59.2.

“October saw US manufacturers report yet another near-record lengthening of supply chains, with shortages of components constraining production growth to the lowest since July of last year,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit.

“Around half of all companies reporting lower production in October attributed the decline to a lack of supplies.

“However, a further one-in-ten cited a lack of labour, and one-in-four reported that demand had fallen, often as a result of customers either lacking other inputs or pushing back on higher prices.”

Elsewhere, ISM's manufacturing PMI revealed that economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in October, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in September.

The October manufacturing PMI registered 60.8%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from the September reading of 61.1%, indicating expansion in the overall economy for the 17th month in a row.

“Manufacturing performed well for the 17th straight month, with demand and consumption registering month-over-month growth, in spite of continuing unprecedented obstacles - including the Imports Index moving into contraction territory - and ever-increasing demand,” said Timothy Fiore of the Institute for Supply Management.

“Meeting demand remains a challenge, due to hiring difficulties and a clear cycle of labour turnover.

“As workers opt for more attractive job opportunities, panelists’ companies and their suppliers struggle to maintain employment levels.”

Still on data, the Commerce Department revealed that construction spending unexpectedly fell 0.5% in September, reversing August's 0.1% increase.

Traders were also looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the central bank expected to reveal that it will soon start to unwind its $120.0bn monthly bond-buying programme before halting it entirely by the midway point of 2022.

Reopening plays were in focus on Monday, with Ford Motor Company up 5.09% and Occidental Petroleum 3.82% higher.

Shares in America's newest trillion-dollar company Tesla were also in the green, ending the day 8.49% firmer.

With the third-quarter earnings season set to continue throughout the course of the week, ‘meme stock’ favourite AMC Entertainment was up 4.81% at the closing bell after the cinema chain reported its best month in October since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company once again offered investors a “free large popcorn” if they registered for its ‘AMC Investor Connect’ platform, having previously served up the puffed maize incentive in June.

“It is a high priority for us that our shareholders become, or continue to be, customers at our theatres,” said AMC chairman and chief executive officer Adam Aron.

“What better way is there for them to indulge themselves with movie theatre popcorn, especially when it is free, than by visiting an AMC?”

The offer of free food came with a caveat, however, with shareholders needing to purchase a movie ticket at a US theatre to redeem the benefit.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $214.58 3.65%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $57.44 2.63%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $250.58 2.05%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $209.79 1.36%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.55 1.12%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $302.76 1.02%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $126.28 0.94%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $416.70 0.81%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $205.32 0.67%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $170.19 0.66%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $366.48 -1.41%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $454.11 -1.38%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $329.37 -0.68%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $166.33 -0.57%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $148.96 -0.56%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $160.11 -0.48%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $56.17 -0.35%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $142.64 -0.24%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $87.84 -0.24%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $52.95 -0.08%

S&P 500 - Risers

Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) $35.11 11.62%
Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $185.87 10.70%
Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $39.79 9.07%
Macy's Inc. (M) $28.42 7.37%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $16.25 7.06%
Alliance Data Systems Corp. (ADS) $90.89 6.62%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $51.60 6.28%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $661.46 5.94%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $349.99 5.41%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $27.07 5.25%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Aon plc (AON) $306.83 -4.09%
L3Harris Technologies Inc. (LHX) $221.35 -3.99%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $324.11 -3.64%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $115.54 -3.56%
Gallagher Arthur J (AJG) $162.53 -3.10%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,869.94 -3.07%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,875.48 -3.03%
Rollins Inc. (ROL) $34.21 -2.92%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $608.81 -2.74%
CBRE Group Inc (CBRE) $101.23 -2.74%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,208.59 8.49%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $661.46 5.94%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $82.50 5.39%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $102.68 5.22%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $170.32 4.98%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $10.93 4.69%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $93.69 4.33%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $76.90 3.79%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $54.18 3.61%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $82.05 3.56%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $2,869.94 -3.07%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $2,875.48 -3.03%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $608.81 -2.74%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $116.35 -2.72%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $355.03 -1.69%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $3,318.11 -1.61%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $640.20 -1.56%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $121.60 -1.36%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $35.69 -1.33%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $681.17 -1.32%