The Closing Look

Stocks rallied on Monday as investors digested the latest round of tepid economic and earnings data. Over the weekend, China’s official manufacturing PMI came in a t 50.1 last month, down from 50.2 in March. The services component came in at 53.5, compared with 53.8 in March. In the U.S., the PMI manufacturing index came in at 50.8, missing estimates for 51.0. The ISM manufacturing index, also missed estimates, and came in at 50.8, compared to the Street’s estimate for 51.5.  Finally, construction spending came in at 0.3%, missing the Street’s estimate for 1.0%. Earnings data failed to impress.

Gary’s Thoughts: No complaint but last week still hangs over market. We shall see!