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NEW YORK >> Wall Street rebounded yesterday as reports of manufacturing and construction spending growth brought buyers back to the market after nearly a week of declines. The Dow Jones industrials climbed 194 points to post their biggest gain since June.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index notched its best advance in six months, while the Nasdaq composite had its biggest jump in three months.
Analysts said the reports soothed investors who were nervous after a Midwest report on Tuesday suggested manufacturing activity might be deteriorating. Many also were jumping back in after end-of-quarter "window-dressing," when fund managers often sell to lock in big gains.
"People were concerned that today's figures would be much weaker, but they came in roughly in line, so it helped support the market's gain," said Peter Dunay, chief market strategist at Wall Street Access, a New York-based brokerage firm.
The Dow closed up 194.14, or 2.1 percent, at 9,469.20, more than recouping the 105-point decline Tuesday that was the fourth losing session in five. The advance yesterday marked the biggest point gain since June 16, when the blue-chip average rose 201.84.
The Nasdaq gained 45.31, or 2.5 percent, to 1,832.25. It was the biggest jump since July 7, when the tech-focused index climbed 57.25 points.
And the S&P 500 rose 22.25, or 2.2 percent, to 1,018.22. It was the biggest advance since April 2, when the index climbed 22.42 points.
The Russell 2000 index rose 12.64, or 2.6 percent, to 500.32.
Advancing issues beat decliners nearly 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume was moderate at 1.94 billion shares, compared with 1.96 billion traded Tuesday.
The NYSE composite index gained 124.29, or 2.2 percent, to 5,768.32. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 12.90, or 1.3 percent, to 1,003.71.
The two-year Treasury note rose 1/32 to 100 1 1/32, with its yield falling 2 basis points to 1.44 percent. The 10-year note was unchanged at 102 1632, with its yield remaining at 3.9 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management reported yesterday its manufacturing index stood at 53.7 in September, down from 54.7 in August. The figure was below estimates of 54.8, but it still reflected a growing economy since a reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Meanwhile, construction spending came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $882.7 billion in August, representing a 0.2 percent increase from July, the Commerce Department reported. The level was the highest since January although it was slightly below estimates of 0.4 percent growth.
3M Co. rose $1.83 to $70.90 after the manufacturing company's chief financial officer, Patrick Campbell, said 3M is on track to deliver earnings growth of 12 percent to 14 percent for 2004.
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