* Manufacturing data inches closer to growth in July
* S&P 500 pops above 1,000 on fresh hopes of recovery
* Materials, energy and financials among standouts
* Dow up 1 pct; S&P 500 up 1.3 pct; Nasdaq up 1.1 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Updates to midday)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday
after data showed the manufacturing sector edged closer to
growth in July, while rising commodity prices boosted shares
of natural resources companies.
The sharp advance briefly pushed the broader S&P 500 Index
<.SPX> to its highest level in nine months above the
psychologically important 1,000 level. On Friday, the S&P 500
wrapped up its best five-month streak since 1938.
Shares of U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co <F.N> jumped 6.8
percent to $8.54 after it reported a 2 percent sales growth in
July, the first year-over-year monthly gain since November
2007. []
Ford is among the primary beneficiaries of the federal
government's "Cash for Clunkers" incentive program that began
on July 24.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of
national factory activity rose in July to 48.9, the highest
since August 2008, from 44.8 in June. Economists polled by
Reuters had forecast a July reading of 46.2. For details, see
[] An ISM reading below 50 indicates contraction
in manufacturing. The ISM index has not been above 50 since
January 2008.
"The ISM data adds to the building case that the economy
has stabilized and that it is going to grow this quarter. I
imagine it will embolden the case of the bulls," said Jim
Awad, managing director of Zephyr Management in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 91.30 points,
or 1.00 percent, to 9,262.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> gained 12.39 points, or 1.25 percent, to 999.87. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <> shot up 21.99 points, or 1.11
percent, to 2,000.49.
The S&P 500 is now up nearly 48 percent since hitting a
12-year low on March 9.
Among natural resources companies' stocks, aluminum
producer Alcoa Inc <AA.N> jumped 6.3 percent to $12.50, while
miner Freeport-McMoran <FCX.N> shot up 7.4 percent to $64.77.
The S&P materials index <.GSPM> was up 3.1 percent.
Shares of major U.S. banks got a boost after HSBC, the
biggest European bank, reported a first-half 2009 profit that
slightly exceeded expectations. Bank of America <BAC.N> shares
rose 3 percent to $15.23, while Citigroup <C.N> gained 0.3
percent to $3.18.
Clorox Co's <CLX.N> quarterly profit rose a
stronger-than-expected 7.6 percent on Monday. But its stock,
which has risen in recent weeks, fell 3 percent to $59.20.
Tyson Foods Inc <TSN.N> also reported a much larger profit
on Monday, but its shares shed 2.3 percent to $11.17.
Among the Nasdaq's major advancers, Apple Inc's <AAPL.O>
shares rose 1.5 percent to $165.90 and Google Inc <GOOG.O>
gained 1.8 percent to $451.17 after both companies mutually
agreed on the need for Google CEO Eric Schmidt to resign from
Apple's board. For details, see: []
On Monday, the U.S. Senate was due to vote on extending
the program to stimulate auto sales after the U.S. House of
Representatives approved $2 billion for it on top of an
initial $1 billion in June. []
(Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu and Ryan Vlastelica;
Editing by Jan Paschal)
