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NEW YORK — The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is four digits again.
The widely used stock market measure broke above 1,000 on Monday for the first time in nine months as reports on manufacturing, housing and banking sent investors more signals that the economy is gathering strength. The S&P is used as a benchmark for many mutual funds.
The market’s July rally blew into August on the type of news that might have seemed unthinkable when stocks cratered to 12-year lows in early March.“The market is beginning to smell economic recovery,” said Howard Ward, portfolio manager of GAMCO Growth Fund. “It may be too early to declare victory, but we are well on our way.”
On Monday, a report from the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, signaled U.S. manufacturing activity should grow next month for the first time since January 2008 as industrial companies restock shelves. Also, the Commerce Department said construction spending rose rather than fell in June as analysts had expected. The reports and rising commodity prices lifted energy and material stocks.