US shares rebounded on Monday after a losing week hit by a series of disappointing economic reports. The market gained as Goldman Sachs recommended large banks and a report showed service industries returned to growth after 11 months of contraction.
Overnight the Dow index and S&P's 500 index posted their biggest falls in three months as the worse-than-expected manufacturing activity data in September and new jobless claims led to a broad sell-off. These figures overshadowed improvements in pending home sales, personal spending and construction spending, and dampened investors confidence on the economy recovery.
Overnight the US stocks slid over disappointing data in regional economy, as well as worries on the crucial data ahead including personal income, consumer spending, weekly jobless claims, manufacturing and home sales.
Wall Street closed lower overnight after American consumer confidence reading in September dropped unexpectedly. The weakness in US technology stocks, which had been a leader for much of Wall Street's six-month rally, yesterday led a fall in the market. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index dipped in September to 53.1 from 54.5 in August as people worries about job market.
Wall Street Monday rebounded from a three-day losing streak as investors were optimistic about the merger and acquisition market after Xerox agreed to buy business services provider Affiliated Computer Services in a US$6.4 billion deal. Analysts' upgrades also boosted Cisco, Citigroup and other firms in both the technology and financial sectors.
The US market fell into mood swings and closed in the red last week. On Friday, the disappointing sales by BlackBerry maker Research In Motion dragged the technology companies lower. For the week, the Dow index lost 155 points, or 1.58 per cent. This week the market will be tested by crucial data including September non-farm payrolls, final second-quarter gross domestic product and several other big economic reports.
Overnight Wall Street was lower for a second consecutive session on a weak home sales report. The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes fell 2.7 per cent in August to an annual rate of 5.10 million units, breaking a string of four increases in six months. The surprise drop in home sales raised more concerns over the economy recovery strength.
