U.S. markets responded well on Wednesday to two manufacturing reports and news that import prices increased for the second consecutive month in August.
Stocks all closed higher, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 46.24 points, or 0.44%, to 10,573. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 3.97 points, or 0.35%, to 1,125.07, and the Nasdaq was up 11.55 points, or 0.5%, to 2,301.32.
The markets liked the Federal Reserve's report on August industrial production and capacity utilization, which showed a 0.2% rise in production after a downwardly revised increase of 0.6% in July. The July revision stemmed primarily from new data on the output of iron and steel, construction machinery, paper, and pharmaceuticals.
"The step-down in the rate of increase reflected a fallback in the production of motor vehicles and parts, which had jumped sharply in July. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, manufacturing output increased 0.5% in August after having gained 0.2% in July," the Fed reported.
