U.S. Reaches 13-Year Manufacturing High : LIVE MARKETS BLOG

U.S. Reaches 13-Year Manufacturing High : LIVE MARKETS BLOG

The three major U.S. indices opened trading on a positive note Monday, looking to build on the positive performance from Friday’s session. 

The S&P 500 was rising 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was climbing 0.5% and the Nasdaq was gaining 0.2% Monday afternoon. The S&P and Nasdaq were building on the record highs the indices reached in the previous session. 

In Asia, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong, Shanghai Composite and Nikkei in Japan rose 0.49%, 0.28% and 0.22% respectively. Across the pond, the FTSE 100 in the U.K rose 0.52%, the DAX in Germany climbed 0.21% and the CAC 40 in France climbed 0.13%. 

Markets opened on a somber note Monday after a lone shooter killed more than 50 people while injuring 200+ more at a concert on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday night. The suspect was shot dead by police in what is being described as the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. 

The previous deadliest was the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub in June last year where 49 people lost their lives. 

The trading session following that shooting saw the Dow Jones dip more than 100 points while the Nasdaq and S&P also lost ground. 


Increased Construction Spending Helps U.S. Factory Activity Reach 13-Year High

The U.S. posted its highest national factory activity reading in 13-years in September, according to the Institue for Supply Management, with a reading of 60.8. The U.S. posted a 58.8 reading in August.  

A reading above 50 shows that manufacturing activity is expanding. Manufacturing accounts for about 12% of the U.S. economy. 

The good news helped drive markets higher Monday as stocks looked to build off a strong end to last week’s trading. 


PepsiCo Downgraded to ‘Hold’ at Jefferies

10:20 AM ET

PepsiCo (PEP) shares were down 1% in morning trading Monday after long-time bulls at Jefferies downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy” while also slashing their price target to $108 from $133. 

The firm sees PepsiCo losing market share in 85% of its beverage portfolio, which accounts for about 25% of the company’s overall profits. PepsiCo’s success in the beverage market depends on its innovativeness, Jefferies contends, which the company hasn’t been able to display in recent quarters. 


Disney, Altice Reach Agreement on Broadcast Fees

9:42 AM ET

Disney Co. (DIS) and French-owned cable provider Altice have ended their impasse over broadcast fees, avoiding the potential blackout of Disney channels for about 2.6 million Altice subscribers in the New York tri-state area. 

The cable provider had contended that Disney was asking for too much, especially for ESPN which has been suffering from declining ratings as more TV watchers cut their cable cords. 

ESPN is the most expensive basic cable channel for distributors to broadcast, costing an estimated $7.50 per month per subscriber, according to consulting firm SNL Kagan.


Bitcoin Shrugs Off China Ban and Marches Towards $4,500

9:02 AM ET

Nothing can seem to stop cryptocurrency bitcoin, not even being banned in China, the world’s second-largest economy. 

Bitcoin traded lower for a few sessions after officials in China ordered the closure of bitcoin exchanges on September 4. Comments by JPMorgan JPM CEO Jamie Dimon calling the currency a “fraud” also put pressure on bitcoin. 

However, the untraceable digital currency has shrugged off those hurdles to begin its climb back to around $4,500 per coin. Bitcoin was trading near $5,000 before China’s crackdown but fell as low as $3,300 in September. 

The currency was trading at $4,382 Monday morning. 

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