Posted on September 2nd, 2010 
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| Index/Security | Close | Chg | %Chg |
| Dow Jones (US) | 10,269 | +254.8 | +2.5 |
| S&P 500 | 1,080 | +31.0 | +3.0 |
| NASDAQ | 2,177 | +62.8 | +3.0 |
US stocks rallied on Wednesday, with Bank of America, Caterpillar and JP Morgan Chase leading broad gains in a strong start to September after manufacturing data topped expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 254.75 points (2.54%) to 10,269.47, marking its biggest one-day gain since July 7 and its fifth-largest one-day gain this year. All 30 of the measure’s components rose, led by Bank of America, which jumped 76 cents (6.1%) to $13.21. Caterpillar was also strong, up $3 (4.6%) to $68.16, and JP Morgan added $1.38 (3.8%) to $37.74.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 62.81 (2.97%) to 2,176.84. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 30.96 (2.95%) to 1,080.29, with all of its sectors ending the session higher. The industrial and financial sectors posted the biggest percentage increases.
The gains followed a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing the US manufacturing sector unexpectedly rebounded in August, with employment rising strongly. The data came on the back of encouraging manufacturing numbers from China. The reports stood in great contrast to more downbeat numbers on the economy recently, and helped feed investors’ thirst for a ray of hope following the market’s worst August since 2001.
There were some weak spots in Wednesday’s data. The Commerce Department reported US construction spending declined in July to the lowest level in 10 years, and payroll giant Automatic Data Processing said private-sector jobs in the US fell by 10,000 during August. However, investors overlooked those reports as the manufacturing data seemingly put the market into euphoria.
| Precious Metals | Close | Chg | %Chg | Units |
| Gold | 1,244 | -4.7 | -0.4 | USD/Oz |
| Silver | 19.3 | -0.1 | -0.3 | USD/Oz |
Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange on the back of stronger equities and new figures indicating an unexpected rebound in the US manufacturing sector. Gold futures finished slightly lower as stronger-than-anticipated manufacturing data dulled some of the safe-haven shine that had earlier sent the metal to fresh two-month highs. Crude-oil settled higher on Wednesday, helped by improving data on US manufacturing and rising equities markets that trumped fears about increasing oil supplies.
Australian Stock Prices Overnight
ResMed fell by US$30.24 to US$30.14, equivalent to A$3.38, A$0.01 below its last close on the ASX.
In London, Rio Tinto rose 76.5 pence to £33.00, A$1.31 higher in Australian currency terms.
BHP-Billiton rose 18.04 pence to £18.16, A$0.31 higher in Australian currency terms.
Henderson Group Plc rose 0.5 pence to £1.25, A$0.01 higher in Australian currency terms.
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