US markets end mostly higher on Wednesday

02 Sep 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday with Nasdaq settling the session at a new record closing high. Sentiments got boost after a separate report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed manufacturing activity in the US unexpectedly grew at a slightly faster rate in the month of August. The ISM said its manufacturing PMI inched up to 59.9 in August from 59.5 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The uptick surprised participants, who had expected the index to dip to 58.6. The unexpected increase by the headline index came as the new orders index climbed to 66.7 in August from 64.9 in July and the production index rose to 60.0 from 58.4 in the previous month. Meanwhile, the report showed the employment index slid to 49.0 in August from 52.9 in July, indicating a modest contraction in employment in the manufacturing sector.

Besides, construction spending in the US increased by slightly more than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department. The report said construction spending rose by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of $1.569 trillion in July after edging down by less than a tenth of a percent to revised rate of $1.563 trillion in June. Street had expected construction spending to inch up by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, private sector employment in the U.S. increased by much less than expected in the month of August, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP. ADP said private sector employment climbed by 374,000 jobs in August after rising by a downwardly revised 326,000 jobs in July. Street had expected employment to jump by 613,000 jobs compared to the addition of 330,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

Nasdaq rose 50.15 points or 0.33 percent to 15,309.38 and S&P 500 was up by 1.41 points or 0.03 percent to 4,524.09, while Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48.2 points or 0.14 percent to 35,312.53.


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