August Starts Hot on Wall Street; Dow Climbs 175

Following up its best month in a year, the Dow jumped about 175 points Monday afternoon as stronger-than-expected global manufacturing data and financial results spark a bullish kickoff to August. Today’s Markets As of 12:50 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 165.37 points, or 1.58%, to 10629.19, the Standard & Poor's 500 added 19.43 points, or 1.76%, to 1121.03 and the Nasdaq Composite picked up 31.77 points, or 1.41%, to 2286.36. The FOX 50 added 12.82 points, or 1.60%, to 812.12. The triple-digit rally began overseas in China, which breathed a sigh of relief as manufacturing data there indicated growth that was viewed as neither too hot, nor too cold. Also, European markets rallied around upbeat results from banking giants HSBC

and BNP Paribas. U.S. markets hit session highs after the release of stronger-than-expected data on construction spending and domestic manufacturing. To read the rest, head over to