By Carla Mozee and Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The S&P 500 was on track for a
record close and the Dow Jones Industrial Average once again moved
within shouting distance of 17,000, as a manufacturing index showed
the strongest level of new orders since the end of last year.
The markets kicked off the second half of 2014 even as the
headline numbers on the ISM manufacturing data and Markit's PMI
index narrowly missed expectations.
The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 12 points, or 0.6%, to 1,972.60,
scaling an intraday record high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) shot up 123 points, or
0.7%, at 16,950.76. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 49 points, or
1.1%, to 4,457.48.
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action.
Marc Doss, regional CIO for Wells Fargo Private Bank said that
economic data so far point to a rebound in the U.S. economy.
"After a terrible first quarter, we are seeing a rebound in
housing, manufacturing. The economy is growing but slowly enough
for the Fed to keep rates low for a while. This environment is very
favorable for equities," Doss said.
U.S. manufacturers remained on a second-quarter hot streak as
new orders for cars, computers, chemicals and other products
climbed to the highest of 2014, according to a survey of industry
executives.
The final Markit reading of U.S. manufacturing conditions in
June totaled 57.3, compared to a preliminary reading of 57.5, the
company said Tuesday. Despite the slight decline, this is still the
highest reading of the index since May 2010.
Outlays for U.S. construction projects rose 0.1% in May to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of $956.1 billion, the U.S.
Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Economists polled by
MarketWatch had expected a 0.7% increase.
Ahead of the U.S. reports, two separate manufacturing PMIs from
China showed improvement in June, but manufacturing activity in the
euro zone slowed.
Investors will also pay attention to June car sales figures to
assess the health of U.S. consumers.
General Motors Co. (GM.XX) shares rose 2.9% as the car maker
reported its U.S. car and light truck sales rose 1% in June to
267,461 vehicles.
Ford Motor Co. (F) shares dropped 0.5% after the company said
U.S. vehicle sales fell 6% to 222,064 in June.
Shares of Netflix Inc.(NFLX) rallied 5.7% after Goldman Sachs
equity analysts upgraded the stock to a buy, from neutral.
Shares of Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) were down 1.8% after
analysts at Wedbush downgraded the stock to neutral from
outperform, citing risks of a slowdown in the retailer's
Anthropologie unit.
In other markets, Japan's Nikkei Average rose 1.1% and Europe's
Stoxx 600 was higher, with BNP Paribas SA gaining after the French
bank agreed to pay a record $8.8 billion settlement to U.S.
authorities for violating U.S. sanctions.
U.S. benchmark crude-oil futures (CLQ4) rose 31 cents to $105.68
a barrel and gold futures (GCQ4)climbed $4.90 to $1,326.90 an
ounce.
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