US close: Equities rally despite mixed economic data and earnings

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 165 points to 17,828.76, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were respectively 25 and 73 points higher.

Mixed manufacturing data

On the economic data front, the US ISM manufacturing index fell to its lowest level since May 2013 last month, declining to 50.1 from 50.2 in September, but remaining marginally above analysts’ expectations for a 50 reading.

The employment sub-index declined to 47.6, its lowest level post the 2009 recession, while the ISM’s new-orders index climbed 2.8 points to a three-month high of 52.9.

"The very modest decline illustrates that the strong dollar and weak global demand are still weighing very heavily on the factory sector," said analysts at Capital Economics.

"There is nothing that points to a bounce back any time soon.

"The impact of the dollar's surge on prices may fade soon, but the impact on real activity will linger until well into next year."

Meanwhile, Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose from 54 in September to 54.1 last month, slightly above the flash reading of 54.

Elsewhere, according to the Commerce Department, construction spending grew 0.6% month-on-month in September, compared with analysts' expectations of a 0.5% gain but slightly below the 0.7% increase recorded in the previous month.

M&A in focus

In company news, payments technology group Visa fell 3.07% after it announced an agreement to acquire Visa Europe in a deal worth as much as €21.2bn (£15.1bn).

The group posted a 41% year-on-year increase in fourth quarter profit to $1.51bn, as the $283m it booked in charge litigation expenses in the previous year did not recur, while adjusted profit excluding one-off items came in at 62 cents a share, slightly below consensus of 63 cents a share.

TreeHouse Foods slid 5.60% after unveiling plans to acquire ConAgra Foods Inc.’s private-brands business for $2.7bn

Restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill declined 2.54% after revealing it closed 43 of its Washington state and Oregon stores over an investigation into an E.coli outbreak.

Going the other way, skincare and makeup products manufacturer Estee Lauder jumped 8.09% after its quarterly profit surged and the group lifted its dividend.

Beauty products manufacturer Coty Inc. rose 2.45% after saying it would buy Hypermarca’s beauty and personal care operations in a deal worth approximately $1bn.

Elsewhere, Asian markets were dragged lower after data showed a private gauge of China’s manufacturing activity remained in contraction for the eighth consecutive month, while European stocks edged higher after some positive PMI data.

The dollar was broadly flat against the euro and climbed 0.17% and 0.21% against the pound and the yen respectively, while gold futures shed 0.69% to $1,134.28.

Oil prices declined, as West Texas Intermediate lost 1.11% to $46.08 a barrel, while Brent fell 1.66% to $48.75 a barrel.

S&P 500 - Risers
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $7.82 +17.42%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $22.10 +11.17%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $12.80 +9.59%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $86.98 +8.10%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $17.95 +7.94%
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $13.64 +6.65%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $63.37 +6.41%
Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) $37.97 +5.94%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $16.70 +5.50%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $29.92 +5.24%

S&P 500 - Fallers
HP Inc (HPQ) $13.83 -48.70%
Visa Inc. (V) $75.22 -3.04%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $623.50 -2.59%
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $118.00 -1.95%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $70.31 -1.82%
L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL) $124.24 -1.71%
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PEG) $40.61 -1.65%
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (HOT) $78.65 -1.53%
Signet Group Plc Adr (SIG) $149.11 -1.21%
Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) $187.32 -1.10%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $94.96 +4.49%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.05 +3.64%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $85.28 +3.07%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $65.54 +2.01%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $74.36 +1.88%
3M Co. (MMM) $159.94 +1.74%
General Electric Co. (GE) $29.37 +1.56%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $121.18 +1.41%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $189.72 +1.18%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $53.24 +1.14%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Visa Inc. (V) $75.22 -3.04%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $28.77 -0.28%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $42.24 -0.27%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.78 -0.21%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $112.10 -0.13%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $303.08 +4.33%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $195.19 +4.12%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $45.81 +3.90%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $148.84 +3.88%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $579.00 +3.88%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $28.65 +3.73%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $127.20 +3.66%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $213.79 +3.32%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $30.92 +3.20%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $72.19 +3.20%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.66 -3.04%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $76.63 -2.20%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $187.34 -1.89%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $70.31 -1.82%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $134.98 -0.98%
Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) $35.27 -0.98%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $273.84 -0.88%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $66.55 -0.85%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $83.16 -0.74%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $107.64 -0.68%