Wall Street rose today, the first day of trade for June, as investors took a positive read on mixed second quarter economic reports.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 0.4 percent to 2,115 at 3:31 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) added 0.3 percent at 18,071, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) was up 0.4 percent at 5,090.
Morning data showed consumer spending was flat month-over-month, while construction spending hit a nearly 6-1/2-year high.
DATA:
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity was 52.8 in May, up from April's reading of 51.5, which had tied with March's reading as the lowest since May 2013. The reading topped expectations of 52.0, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
Construction spending for April increased 2.2 percent, the highest level in nearly six-and-a-half years.
The May manufacturing PMI index came in at 54.0, slightly above the initial read of 53.8 and little changed from April's 54.1 report.
Personal income increased 0.4 percent in April. Consumer spending was unchanged from the prior month.
MOVERS:
Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) fell 1.7 percent to $33.87 as the world’s largest chipmaker said it agreed to buy Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR) for $16.7 billion in a deal that will take out yet another chipmaker and add to a record year for industry consolidation. Altera rose 5.8 percent to $51.69.
OM Group (NYSE:OMG) jumped 28 percent to $34.03 after the technology-driven industrial company agreed to be taken private by Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) for $34 a share, or a total of about $1 billion.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 1.5 percent to $47.54 as the world's largest software company said today that its new Windows 10 operating system will be available worldwide on July 29, as a free upgrade for users of the most recent versions of Windows.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) added 3.2 percent to $66.70 as a cancer drug that works by unleashing the body’s immune system extended survival rates for lung-cancer patients compared with chemotherapy in a clinical trial. But the results fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Celladon (NASDAQ:CLDN) climbed 1.3 percent to $2.34 after the clinical-stage biotechnology company said it will seek an acquisition or partnership and named Paul Cleveland chief executive.
CTi BioPharma (NASDAQ:CTIC) jumped 13 percent to $2.19 in heavy trading after the drug developer presented positive data on its blood cancer drug.
Molycorp (NYSE:MCP) fell 15.1 percent to $0.466 after the Wall Street Journal reported the rare earth miner is expected to skip a loan payment, which might lead to a bankruptcy filing.
COMMODITIES:
August gold dropped 0.1 percent to settle at $1,188.70 on the Comex.
West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 0.2 percent to settle at $60.22 per barrel on New York Mercantile Exchange.
OTHER MARKETS:
European stocks closed mixed on weaker-than-expected factory growth amid strength in health care stocks.