North American markets higher on economic data

North American markets closed sharply higher Wednesday after the release of strong manufacturing data from the U.S. and China.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index ended the day up 89.9 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 12,003.8. The index has climbed in each of the last six days.

New York markets also headed higher, with the Dow Jones industrials surging 254.75 points, or 2.5 per cent, to 10,269.47.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 62.81 points, or three per cent, to 2,176.84, while the S&P 500 index was up 30.96 points, or three per cent, to 1,080.29.

The Canadian dollar moved up 1.30 cents to 95.06 cents US.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index showed the sector expanding at a stronger pace during August, rising to 56.3 from 55.5 in July.

Economists had expected a much more modest reading of 53.

"Given the sharp deterioration in many of the various regional activity surveys, we were worried about an even bigger drop," said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist at Capital Markets. 

"It is encouraging to know that the manufacturing recovery may not have collapsed after all."

Investors ignore jobs data

Investors ignored soft employment data from the ADP payrolls firm that showed that private employers cut 10,000 jobs during August. The markets had expected the ADP report to show that as many as 19,000 private payroll jobs were added.

Earlier in the day, the state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index — a gauge of business activity — rose to 51.7 in August from 51.2 in July.

That was the first growth in manufacturing in China in four months.

The October crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed $1.99 to $73.91 US a barrel. The December bullion contract in New York fell $2.20 to $1,248.10 US an ounce.