U.S. stocks nudged higher after upbeat economic data, including an ADP report that showed the most jobs added in the private sector in three months and better-than-expeced factory orders data.
Approaching noon in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 13 points at 16,546, while the Nasdaq climbed 6 points to 4,274 and the S&P 500 added 3 points to 1,889.
Ahead of the all-important Friday jobs report, ADP said this morning that the U.S. added 191,000 private sector jobs in March, slightly below estimates. Economists were looking for 193,000 new private sector jobs for the month, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg, compared to an upward revised 178,000 in February.
Also on the calendar, at 10:00am ET, the government said February factory orders increased 1.6%, ahead of expectations for a 1.2% rise, following a 0.7% drop in January.
U.S. stocks closed well into positive territory yesterday, the first day of April, which brought a three day winning streak for markets --- something not seen throughout all of March. The Dow and the S&P 500 hadn't seen three straight sessions of gains since the last three days of February.
In global markets, Asian stocks finished higher, taking their cue from the U.S., while European markets were also settled higher, paced by gains in Germany.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Wednesday that "low-flation", particularly in the euro area, is an emerging risk to advanced economies and can suppress demand and output.
Meanwhile, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio Wednesday that he expects the first rate hike to come in the first quarter of 2015. He said that a faster rate of US economic growth as well as Europe out of recession should lift inflation closer to its 2% target.
In other developments, the House has passed a bill authorizing fairly limited sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in corruption and violence, extending $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine, and providing $150 million in direct assistance. The Senate approved similar legislation last week, meaning the measure is due to go to President Obama for his signature.
In corporate activity, shares in MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) surged over 74% after an FDA advisory panel recommended the approval of the company's Afrezza inhalable insulin for treating Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The FDA's own staff said that Afrezza was only marginally effective and possibly risky, meaning the results are a bit of a surprise. If approved, MannKind has said that the treatment would be the first ultra rapid-acting mealtime insulin therapy available in the U.S.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) meanwhile decided to end a clinical trial involving its MAGE-A3 vaccine, saying it could not find a group of lung cancer patients who might benefit from the treatment. Shares dropped 0.8%.
Monsanto (NYSE:MON) climbed after its quarterly earnings topped forecasts.
Elsewhere, GM (NYSE:GM) has hired disaster response expert Kenneth Feinberg to help the automaker with its massive ignition switch recall, CEO Mary Barra told Congress yesterday. The company decided not to change those switches in 2005 because it would have added an extra dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document. Barra's second day of testimony continues Wednesday.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) was also in the limelight, with the much-awaited 2-for-1 stock split happening today, when shareholders of record as of March 27 will get two shares for every one they owned. One set of shares, called Class A, will trade under the new ticker symbol "GOOGL". The other, class C, will be listed under its historic ticker, "GOOG".
In commodities, Comex gold for June delivery rose $13.9 to $1,293.90 an ounce as of 11:26am ET, while May crude shed 44 cents to $99.3 a barrel. Reported by Proactive Investors 3 hours ago.
Approaching noon in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 13 points at 16,546, while the Nasdaq climbed 6 points to 4,274 and the S&P 500 added 3 points to 1,889.
Ahead of the all-important Friday jobs report, ADP said this morning that the U.S. added 191,000 private sector jobs in March, slightly below estimates. Economists were looking for 193,000 new private sector jobs for the month, according to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg, compared to an upward revised 178,000 in February.
Also on the calendar, at 10:00am ET, the government said February factory orders increased 1.6%, ahead of expectations for a 1.2% rise, following a 0.7% drop in January.
U.S. stocks closed well into positive territory yesterday, the first day of April, which brought a three day winning streak for markets --- something not seen throughout all of March. The Dow and the S&P 500 hadn't seen three straight sessions of gains since the last three days of February.
In global markets, Asian stocks finished higher, taking their cue from the U.S., while European markets were also settled higher, paced by gains in Germany.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Wednesday that "low-flation", particularly in the euro area, is an emerging risk to advanced economies and can suppress demand and output.
Meanwhile, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio Wednesday that he expects the first rate hike to come in the first quarter of 2015. He said that a faster rate of US economic growth as well as Europe out of recession should lift inflation closer to its 2% target.
In other developments, the House has passed a bill authorizing fairly limited sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials involved in corruption and violence, extending $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine, and providing $150 million in direct assistance. The Senate approved similar legislation last week, meaning the measure is due to go to President Obama for his signature.
In corporate activity, shares in MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) surged over 74% after an FDA advisory panel recommended the approval of the company's Afrezza inhalable insulin for treating Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. The FDA's own staff said that Afrezza was only marginally effective and possibly risky, meaning the results are a bit of a surprise. If approved, MannKind has said that the treatment would be the first ultra rapid-acting mealtime insulin therapy available in the U.S.
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) meanwhile decided to end a clinical trial involving its MAGE-A3 vaccine, saying it could not find a group of lung cancer patients who might benefit from the treatment. Shares dropped 0.8%.
Monsanto (NYSE:MON) climbed after its quarterly earnings topped forecasts.
Elsewhere, GM (NYSE:GM) has hired disaster response expert Kenneth Feinberg to help the automaker with its massive ignition switch recall, CEO Mary Barra told Congress yesterday. The company decided not to change those switches in 2005 because it would have added an extra dollar to the cost of each car, according to an internal GM document. Barra's second day of testimony continues Wednesday.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) was also in the limelight, with the much-awaited 2-for-1 stock split happening today, when shareholders of record as of March 27 will get two shares for every one they owned. One set of shares, called Class A, will trade under the new ticker symbol "GOOGL". The other, class C, will be listed under its historic ticker, "GOOG".
In commodities, Comex gold for June delivery rose $13.9 to $1,293.90 an ounce as of 11:26am ET, while May crude shed 44 cents to $99.3 a barrel. Reported by Proactive Investors 3 hours ago.