Energy, healthcare triggers Wall Street gains; Nasdaq 100 hits 15-year high
US Stocks went up across sectors Monday largely due to the increases in the energy sector and the growing acquisition activities in healthcare.
Reuters reported that the increases on the first trading day of November happened right after the impressive October figure, which is the best monthly performance of the major indexes in the last four years. Meanwhile, Nasdaq 100. NDX closed on Monday at its highest level for the past 15 years. US manufacturing activity went down in October, but an increase in new orders encouraged optimism among investors. Also, factory activity in Germany is higher than economists' estimates, as manufacturing in Central and Eastern Europe was in a steady growth in October.
The US Stocks gains are an addition to the momentum of its growth from the August 25 drop to 17 percent, according to Bloomberg Business. The S&P 500 is up 13% from a low in August as equities regain from a third-quarter fade stimulated by the concern that frailing growth in China would spread. A revenue season that was not as bad as analysts basically predicted also helped the benchmark delete a loss for the year, as reported by Bloomberg Business.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 89.39 points to 12918.15. That is a 0.5 percent gain. The figure came after the index closed in a positive level in Monday. That is the first time it reached that level since July. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 increased 5.74 points to 2109.79, which is 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq Composite also went up 17.98 to 5145.13, which is a 0.4 percent increase. The S&P 500's energy index climbed 2.5 percent more compared to other sectors. US crude-oil futures increased 3.8 percent and settled at $47.90 a barrel due to supply problems in Libya and Brazil. The flooding in Texas caused problems in Colonial Pipeline operations, which led to a boost in gasoline and diesel prices. Gasoline futures increased 5.1 percent to $1.4455 a gallon. This is the highest it has been since August 31. Diesel futures went up 3.9 percent to $1.566 a gallon.
The S&P healthcare index grew 2 percent. Pfizer went up 3.7 percent and AbbVie climbed 6.4 percent, which are the biggest increases in the sector. Meanwhile, Dyax had a significant increase of 28.4 percent to $35.35 after Shire announced plans to buy the company for $5.9 billion. Nasdaq biotechnology index closed 3.8 percent.
Copyright © MoneyTimes.com