US STOCKS-Wall St gains on ISM data, Exxon earnings and Apple

                                
  
                                
 * Manufacturing sector expands more than expected
                                
 * Exxon's stock jumps as results beat estimates
                                
 * Apple lifts Nasdaq, but Amazon drags
                                
 * Dow up 1.1 pct, S&P up 1.3 pct; Nasdaq up 0.9 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates to late afternoon trading, changes byline)
                                
 By Angela Moon
                                
 NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday as
better-than-expected data on the manufacturing sector and
earnings from Exxon Mobil reassured investors that economic
growth is on track, after stocks suffered their worst month in
almost a year.
                                
 Apple Inc shares <AAPL.O> rose 0.8 percent to $193.62,
buoying the Nasdaq. The semiconductor index <.SOXX> was up 2.6
percent, following an analyst's upgrade of the sector.
                                
 The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index
showed the sector grew in January at a faster rate than
expected. The ISM report followed strong manufacturing data
from China, Australia and the euro zone. [ID:nN01363414] and
[ID:nLDE6100W3]
                                
 Exxon's stock rose 2.8 percent to $66.26 after the largest
U.S. oil company reported natural gas products boosted results
at its exploration arm. [ID:nN01189745]. The S&P energy sector
index <.GSPE> gained 2.7 percent.
                                
 The S&P 500's 1.3 percent gain comes after three weeks of
back-to-back losses.
                                
 "The market is starting to focus more on profits, putting
into perspective positive economic news like the ISM, while
putting aside politics and bad earnings we saw" in January,
said Burt White, managing director and chief investment officer
of LPL Financial in Boston.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> climbed 110.34
points, or 1.10 percent, to 10,177.67. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> gained 13.51 points, or 1.26 percent, to
1,087.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 20.38 points,
or 0.95 percent, to 2,167.73.
                                
 Shares of industrial materials companies gained on the
strong global manufacturing data, with aluminum company Alcoa
Inc <AA.N> up 4 percent at $13.24, and U.S. Steel Corp <X.N> up
6.1 percent to $47.11. The Dow Jones industrials metals and
mining index <.DJUSIM> rose 5.5 percent.
                                
 In the tech sector, shares of cellphone chip maker Qualcomm
<QCOM.O> gained 1.6 percent to $39.85 and also helped give the
Nasdaq one of its biggest boosts, while International Business
Machines Corp <IBM.N> rose 1.9 percent to $124.72 on the NYSE
and ranked among the Dow's major advancers.
                                
 In January's pullback, the materials and technology sectors
were the biggest losers.
                                
 But the Nasdaq's advance was curbed by Amazon Inc <AMZN.O>,
whose shares fell 5.9 percent to $118.02 after the online
retailer all but waved the white flag in a dispute with
publisher Macmillan that could lead raising prices on some of
its e-books. [ID:nN31156514]
                                
 Warner Chilcott <WCRX.O> shares fell 7.1 percent to $25.41
and also dragged on the Nasdaq after Morgan Stanley downgraded
the stock to "equal weight" from "overweight". [ID:nSGE6102KS]
 (Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Jan Paschal)