Nov 2 USA stocks added to their recent run with sharp gains on Monday, as the beaten-down energy group and the acquisition-driven healthcare industry led increases across all sectors.
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About 45 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,733.42, up 69.88 points (0.40 percent).
The three major indexes had a positive start in November, after posting their best monthly performances in four years in October.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 78 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,741 as of 11:17 a.m. Eastern time.
Health care stocks were among the early winners today.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline edged up 0.4 cent to $1.375 a gallon in New York, heating oil fell a penny to $1.507 a gallon and natural gas fell 6.5 cents to $2.256 per 1,000 cubic feet. Pfizer Inc. climbed 3.8 percent as people with knowledge of the matter said the company is making progress in talks to buy Allergan Plc.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.4% after six consecutive days of losses, as concerns about Chinese growth waned.
Europe’s FTSEurofirst ended up 0.4 percent, after being dogged throughout the trading day by a slump in shares of Volkswagen and Standard Chartered.
Chevron Corp. shares were up 2.8% at $97.62, while Exxon Mobil Corp. was up 1.9% at $88.86. The Shanghai Composite Index was 0.5 percent lower at 3,367.06.
As the USA earnings seasons begins to wind down, investors’ focus turns to economic data, including Friday’s crucial monthly jobs report, for a clearer picture of the state of the economy leading up to the Federal Reserve’s meeting in December.
Data is expected to show US factory activity fell in October. Nasdaq Composite futures have advanced 0.2%.
The company temporarily closed its restaurants in Oregon and Washington after an outbreak of E. coli. The euro rose to $1.1025 from $1.1009.
In commodities, Brent crude oil was 1.2% higher at $49.34 a barrel. Herbalife shares dropped almost 2 percent Wednesday morning, but its price is up more than 50 percent for the year.
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Energy companies in the S&P 500 rose 1.3 per cent, even as crude oil slipped, with Diamond Offshore Drilling, Consol Energy and Noble Energy increasing more than 3.2 per cent. Diamond Offshore jumped 12 per cent, the most in seven years, after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter profit and revenue.
