By Joseph Adinolfi and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Stocks shake off weak manufacturing gauge

The S&P 500 broke above 2,100 for the first time since early November Tuesday as investors shook off a weak reading on U.S. manufacturing activity and pushed stocks higher with less than a half-hour left in the trading day.

The S&P 500 index was up 19.81 points on the day, or 1%, to 2,100.19.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 146.85 points, or 0.8%, to 17,866.91 in recent trading, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 41.52 points, or 0.8%, to 5,150.60.

Investors remained optimistic about the November jobs report, set to be released Friday, despite a weak reading from Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index, which fell to 48.6% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ism-manufacturing-index-drops-to-lowest-level-since-mid-2009-2015-12-01) in November, its weakest reading since mid-2009.

The jobs report is widely considered the last major piece of data that could influence the Fed's decision about whether or not to lift rates.

JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist at TD Ameritrade, called the ISM number "a disaster," but said that it probably won't dissuade Federal Reserve policy makers from raising interest rates at their policy meeting later this month.

"It doesn't impact our expectations for the Fed at all, but it does perhaps impact the strength we saw earlier today," Kinahan said. "It wasn't quite the strong number we expected."

Yellen is scheduled to speak publicly three times in the next two days. Investors will be listening closely for signs that a December interest-rate hike remains a strong possibility, market strategists said.

Also read: Fed may need 4% unemployment rate to hit inflation goal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-may-need-4-unemployment-rate-to-hit-inflation-goal-2015-11-30)

Data: Aside from the ISM report, the U.S. economic data released Tuesday was relatively robust.

Construction spending jumped a seasonally adjusted 1% in October, beating the expectations of economists polled by MarketWatch (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/construction-spending-rises-10-in-october-2015-12-01-1091510). Meanwhile, U.S. auto sales posted modest monthly gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-nov-car-sales-buoyed-by-black-friday-deals-2015-12-01).

Fed speakers:Chicago Fed President Charles Evans (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-evans-says-december-interest-rate-hike-could-be-a-mistake-2015-12-01) said that a December interest-rate hike could be a mistake. Stocks were little-changed after the remarks because Evans' views were already well-known to investors.

At 8 p.m. Eastern, Fed Gov. Lael Brainard will talk about the "Lower Neutral Rate and its implications for Monetary Policy" at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Associates Meeting in Stanford, Calif.

Movers and shakers: Shares of instruments and microwave-components maker Giga-Tronics Inc (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/giga-tronics-stock-more-than-doubles-after-software-licensing-deal-2015-12-01).(GIGA) more than doubled after the company announced a software-licensing deal with Lockheed Martin Corp.

Shares of Amazon.com(AMZN) rose 2.2% after the online retailer said the Black Friday period marked a record weekend for sales of its own devices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-crushes-black-friday-weekend-with-record-sales-of-its-own-devices-2015-12-01).

Infoblox Inc.(BLOX) shares rose 22.3% after the network software company late Monday reported earnings that topped analyst expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/infoblox-shares-rally-on-earnings-outlook-buyback-plan-2015-11-30).

Shares of HF Financial Corp.(HFFC) surged 18.7% on reports that Great Western Bancorp Inc.(GWB) intends to buy the company for $139.4 million.

Other markets: Asian stock markets closed broadly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-shares-rise-on-hopes-for-stimulus-yuan-holds-steady-2015-12-01) after a flurry of weak PMIs lifted hopes for more monetary easing.

European equities (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-trim-gains-as-ecb-meeting-looms-2015-12-01) closed lower as investors were reluctant to take any major positions ahead of the ECB meeting on Thursday. Economists widely expect the central bank to extend its quantitative easing program and possibly move the deposit rate further into negative territory.

Crude oil futures turned lower after briefly trading above $42 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-rise-as-opec-meeting-draws-closer-2015-12-01) a barrel as the meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting this Friday in Vienna drew closer.

Gold edged higher, while the dollar slipped against most major currencies (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yen-gains-on-reports-of-currency-hedging-by-japans-mega-pension-fund-2015-12-01).

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2015 15:50 ET (20:50 GMT)