US close: Stocks notch record high closes on upbeat manufacturing data
US stocks kicked off the month of October in style, with all three of the main indices notching record high closes on the back of upbeat manufacturing data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% to 22,55.60, the S&P 500 closed up 0.4% at 2,529.12 and the Nasdaq ended up 0.3% at 6,516.72.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell after oilfield services group Baker Hughes said more drilling rigs went into operation last week after two weeks of declines and following a report that the output of OPEC nations grew last month.
West Texas Intermediate was down 2.2% to $50.55 a barrel and Brent crude was off 1.3% to $56.08
The upbeat session came despite tragic events in Las Vegas, where a lone gunman killed at least 58 people and injured more than 500 after opening fire on crowds at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas.
A couple of encouraging data releases helped to underpin markets.
According to a survey by IHS Markit, manufacturing activity in the US grew a little more than initially estimated in September.
IHS Markit's final manufacturing purchasing managers' index edged up to 53.1 from a flash estimate of 53.0 and a reading of 52.8 in August. The upturn signalled a slight pick-up in growth momentum and a strong improvement in overall operating conditions across the sector.
Meanwhile, data from the Institute for Supply Management showed growth in the US manufacturing sector unexpectedly improved in September.
The ISM's headline manufacturing index rose to 60.8 from 58.8 in August, beating consensus expectations for a reading of 58.1 and marking the highest reading since June 2004.
Growth was driven by new orders, the index for which jumped to 64.6 from 60.3 in August. Meanwhile the employment index printed at 60.3 compared to 59.9 the month before and the production index increased to 62.2 from 61.0.
Capital Economics said the rise in the ISM manufacturing index to a 13-year high is the latest illustration of the benefit to the manufacturing sector from the weaker dollar and strong global demand.
“The index is now, at face value, consistent with GDP growth surging above 5% annualised in the second half of this year.”
On the corporate front, MGM Resorts fell sharply after the shooting at its Mandalay Bay property in Las Vegas.
Nordstrom slumped following a report that talks to take the department store company private were stalling.
On the upside, Oracle Corp was on the front foot after its chairman Larry Ellison guaranteed late on Sunday to offer database warehousing at less than half the price Amazon.com charges.