By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Consumer spending falls in January

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks moved higher on Monday as investors assessed a batch of economic reports including consumer spending and manufacturing.

Investors are paying close attention to economic data for signs that might prompt the Federal Reserve to begin raising key interest rates later this year. Weaker economic data may give the central bank more flexibility to stay accommodative for longer.

Monday's economic reports pointed to a slowdown in manufacturing activity as well as consumer spending. Consumer spending (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumers-spend-less-save-more-at-start-of-2015-2015-03-02) in January fell by more than expected, while the savings rate rose as Americans chose to pocket savings from cheaper gasoline. Meanwhile, the widely-watched Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing gauge (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ism-manufacturing-gauge-slows-to-529-in-february-2015-03-02) slowed in February, but was in line with expectations. Disappointing investors was construction spending (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/january-construction-spending-drops-11-2015-03-02-1091643), which fell unexpectedly in January.

A survey of purchasing managers showed the final February reading on the index was raised.

The S&P 500 (SPX) moved higher with six of its 10 main sectors trading in positive territory. Consumer discretionary sector was leading gains. Energy stock took a hit as oil prices moved lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) jumped more than 100 points, with two thirds of its 30 components in the green. McDonald's Corp and Visa Inc. were the top two performers among the blue chips, while Chevron Corp and IBM lagged behind.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) also rose, inching closer to the 5,000 level.

Stocks to watch: Shares of GoPro Inc. (GPRO) fell after Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi launched a wearable action camera that offers many of the features of GoPro's Hero camera, but retails at half the cost.

Sotheby's(BID) shares dropped sharply after the auction company missed profit expectations.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.(BRKA) were slightly lower after the Nebraska-based holding company over the weekend posted lower earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/berkshire-hathaway-profit-shrinks-2015-02-28) for the fourth quarter amid investment derivative gains of $192 million. Warren Buffett answered questions submitted via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on CNBC Monday. Read: Two books Warren Buffett says you should read (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/two-books-warren-buffett-says-you-should-read-2015-02-28)

Athersys Inc.(ATHX) rallied 20% after the biotech firm said it has set up a license agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. .

Shares of Aruba Networks(ARUN) fell after the company announced an agreement to be acquired by Hewlett-Packard confirming media reports out last week, in a deal valued at $3 billion.

NXP Semiconductors NV(NXPI) jumped 15% and Freescale Semiconductor Ltd.(FSL) gained 10% after the two companies announced a merger with that will create a $40 billion company (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nxp-freescale-agree-to-merge-2015-03-02).

Shares of Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc.(LL) fell 26% in premarket action after the retailer of hardwood flooring was linked to toxic chemicals on "60 Minutes" (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lumber-liquidators-linked-to-health-and-safety-violations/). Trading in the stock was halted after the opening bell, possibly because the company is about to issue a statement to the TV program.

Goodrich Petroleum Corp.(GDP) gave up 9% after the oil and gas producer said it has started a public offering of 12 million shares to repay debt and for other purposes.

Chinese rate-cut: In a surprise move, the People's Bank of China on Saturday lowered the benchmark (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/story?guid=%7BC27BAEEA-5F05-42CD-939E-3B9DA0B4A35E%7D) one-year loan to 5.35% and the one-year deposit rate to 2.5%, both cut by a quarter of a percentage point. The central bank signaled in a statement that a looming threat of deflation was a trigger for the rate cut. Asian markets closed mostly higher on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).

Other markets: Oil prices (CLJ5) moved firmly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-slides-after-posting-strong-february-gains-2015-03-02) after posting strong gains in February. Gold (GCJ5) inched higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), while the dollar (DXY) traded mixed against other major currencies.

European stock markets were largely lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), even as data showed inflation rose to negative 0.3% in February from negative 0.6% in January, while the currency union's unemployment rate dropped to the lowest since 2012 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/eurozone-jobless-rate-falls-to-lowest-since-2012-2015-03-02).

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