Stocks closed higher as the latest U.S. manufacturing numbers gave investors reason to keep the stock market’s rally going on the first day of the second quarter. The March installment of the ISM Manufacturing Index came in above expectations at 53.4, up from 52.4 in the month prior. Also, February construction spending declined by 1.1%. Economists had predicted a 0.5% increase in spending. Investors got a mixed view of China’s crucial manufacturing sector. Worries about a slowdown in China have tempered investor enthusiasm lately. Tech stocks closed on a strong note Monday, but Groupon’s decline was in the spotlight. Groupon fell almost 17% after the company cut its fourth-quarter earnings by $22.6 million and its quarterly sales by $14.3 million. Merrill Lynch cut its rating on Groupon and Amazon.com. UBS downgraded Texas Instruments and Linear Technology to neutral from buy on valuation concerns. Dell rose 1.05% after the co. said it would acquire privately held cloud-computing technology company Wyse Technology. Implied volatility inched lower on huge trading volumes.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Closed higher on strong manufacturing numbers
Stocks closed higher as the latest U.S. manufacturing numbers gave investors reason to keep the stock market’s rally going on the first day of the second quarter. The March installment of the ISM Manufacturing Index came in above expectations at 53.4, up from 52.4 in the month prior. Also, February construction spending declined by 1.1%. Economists had predicted a 0.5% increase in spending. Investors got a mixed view of China’s crucial manufacturing sector. Worries about a slowdown in China have tempered investor enthusiasm lately. Tech stocks closed on a strong note Monday, but Groupon’s decline was in the spotlight. Groupon fell almost 17% after the company cut its fourth-quarter earnings by $22.6 million and its quarterly sales by $14.3 million. Merrill Lynch cut its rating on Groupon and Amazon.com. UBS downgraded Texas Instruments and Linear Technology to neutral from buy on valuation concerns. Dell rose 1.05% after the co. said it would acquire privately held cloud-computing technology company Wyse Technology. Implied volatility inched lower on huge trading volumes.
