The stock markets in the United States increased driven by better-than-expected manufacturing data, which overshadowed concerns regarding the stagnant consumer spending.
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The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the U.S, manufacturing sector increased 1.3% to 52.8% in May. The new orders index rose 2.3% to 55.8% and the prices index climbed 9% to 49.5%.
The ISM panel commented that the economy is strengthening with increasing demand and improving flow of goods, but noted continuing concerns regarding the price of the U.S. dollar and challenges affecting markets related to oil and gas industries.
A separate report earlier today showed that consumer spending stalled in April. There were concerns that a biggest part of the economy will likely struggle to gain momentum.
[drizzle]Commenting on the reports, Timothy Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management told Bloomberg, “If economic data isn’t negative, but also not really positive, the market loves it. He added, “What we saw today leads us to believe the Fed won’t be in a big hurry to be aggressive with raising rates, and that benefits stock prices. The M&A we’ve seen is a big positive as well.”
A related report from Wall Street Journal quoted a comment from Richard Franulovich. A senior currency strategist at Wesrpack Bank saying, “Good U.S. numbers have been sorely lacking over the past several months.” He also noted that the U.S. dollar climbed after the ISM report, which showed that the “market is clearly rebuilding its confidence in the bullish-dollar story.”
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 18,040.37 (+0.16%)
- S&P 500- 2,111.73 (+0.25%)
- NASDAQ- 5,082.93 (-0.55%)
- Russell 2000- 1,249.62 (+0.25%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,575.04 (+0.12%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,953.58 (-0.80%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 11,436.05 (+0.19%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 20,569.87 (+0.03%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 27,597.16 (+0.63%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 5,076.37 (+0.14%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of ImmunoGen increased almost 72% to $15.44 per share. The biopharmaceutical company surged after releasing a clinical update regarding its experimental ovarian cancer drug (IMGN853) at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting. The update showed that patients with heavily pre-treated ovarian cancer have a response rate of 53% response rate after receiving IMGN853 in a small early stage study.
SINA shares gained more than 23% to $50.21 per share. The company entered a legally binding subscription agreement” with its chairman and CEO Charles GAO for its 11 million newly issued ordinary shares worth $456 million. GAO agreed to purchase the newly issued shares through a special purpose vehicle, which he beneficially owns or control.
The shares of Renewable Energy Group increased more than 16% to $12.38 per share. Analysts at Piper Jaffray upgraded their rating on the stock to Overweight from Neutral.
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