The US markets ended higher on Monday as traders looked to pick up stocks at somewhat reduced levels. Traders continued to keep an eye on heavily-shorted stocks like GameStop and AMC Entertainment, which have seen considerable volatility amid speculative trading by retail investors. The markets largely shrugged off a report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showing the pace of growth in US manufacturing activity slowed more than expected in January. The ISM said its manufacturing PMI declined to 58.7 in January from a downwardly revised 60.5 in December. While a reading above 50 indicates continued growth in the manufacturing sector, Street had expected the index to show a more modest drop to 60.0.
Meanwhile, partly reflecting a spike in spending on residential construction, the Commerce Department released a report showing US construction spending increased by slightly more than expected in the month of December. The Commerce Department said construction spending jumped by 1.0 percent to an annual rate of $1.490 trillion in December after surging up by 1.1 percent to a rate of $1.476 billion in November. Street had expected construction spending to climb by 0.9 percent. Spending on private construction increased by 1.2 percent to a rate of $1.138 trillion, as a 3.1 percent spike in spending on residential construction more than offset a 1.7 percent slump in spending on non-residential construction.
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 229.29 points or 0.76 percent to 30,211.91, Nasdaq gained 332.7 points or 2.55 percent to 13,403.39 and S&P 500 was up by 59.62 points or 1.61 percent to 3,773.86.
