Construction spending:+.4%
Dow industrials: +1.1%
Manufacturing index: -.4 points
Consumer spending: -.3%
U.S. stock indexes surged Monday afternoon following their worst month in a year. Better-than-expected earnings from Exxon Mobil and a recovery in the price of oil brought investors back into energy stocks. European markets closed mostly higher after France endorsed Greece’s efforts to ease the terms of its financial rescue program.
Keeping score
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 196 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,361. The Nasdaq composite was flat at 4,637. The S&P 500 index rose 25 points, or 1.3 percent, to 2,020. The Nasdaq composite rose 41 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,676.
Oil rises
The price of U.S. benchmark crude oil rose $1.33 to $49.57 a barrel on signs that American oil production is slowing. Crude had surged on Friday, too. U.S. energy companies are under pressure to curtail drilling as prices fall to a level that makes some production unprofitable. Prices have fallen nearly 60 percent since last June as global supplies grew faster than demand.
Factory funk
U.S. manufacturing expanded last month at the slowest pace in a year as orders, production and hiring all declined. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said its manufacturing index fell to 53.5 in January from 55.1 in December. It was the third straight drop. Any reading above 50 signals expansion.
Manufacturers are facing weak demand for their exports as overseas economies falter and the dollar increases in value, making U.S. goods more expensive. The sharp drop in oil prices has hurt, too. U.S. oil and gas drillers are ordering less drilling equipment and machinery.
More construction
U.S. construction spending accelerated in December as building activity increased for new houses and government-backed highways. The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending rose 0.4 percent in December. Total construction spending in 2014 increased 5.6 percent to $961 billion, with the gains slightly below the pace of 5.7 percent in 2013.
Spending on single-family houses rose 1.2 percent in December from the prior month. Highway and street construction grew by 2.1 percent and factory-building by 1.9 percent. Construction of schools and commercial centers fell in December.
The gains were strong enough that Michael Gapen, an analyst at the bank Barclays, said that the economy likely expanded at an annual pace of 2.8 percent in the final three months of last year, compared to the 2.6 percent estimate reported by the government last week.
Drop in shopping
U.S. consumer spending edged lower in December as vehicle sales slowed and more Americans chose to save rather than spend. The Commerce Department said spending fell 0.3 percent last month after rising 0.5 percent in November.
Earnings so far
With about half the companies in the S&P 500 index already out with their results, earnings for companies in the index are expected to have risen 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter, according to FactSet, a financial data provider. That is one of the smallest gains since the economic recovery began nearly six years ago.
Several big companies are reporting this week, including United Parcel Service and Disney on Tuesday and General Motors on Wednesday.
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