Investing.com – Wall Street rose on Tuesday, the first trading day of the new year as data showed the private sector expanded more than expected in December.
The S&P 500 rose 16 points or 0.63% as of 10:20 AM ET (15:20 GMT) while the Dow composite increased 100 points or 0.41% and tech heavy NASDAQ Composite was up 73 points or 1.06%.
In a report, market research group IHS Markit said on Tuesday that its manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), rose to to 55.1 in December, from the prior reading of 55.0. It was the highest reading since March 2015 as the American economy continues to strengthen.
Technology stocks were among the biggest gainers after the morning bell. Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) was up 0.58% while Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) rose 3.21% and luxury car maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) gained 2.02%.
Meanwhile Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) surged 1.13% and shares in Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) increased 3.80% after analysts gave a 40% chance that the tech giant could buy the online streaming firm this year.
Elsewhere Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) fell 5.80% as the falling price of Bitcoin puts pressure on the company while GAIN Capital Holdings Inc (NYSE:GCAP) decreased 5.96%.
In Europe stocks are mostly down. In Germany the DAX fell 17 points or 0.13% while France’s CAC 40 decreased 23 points or 0.43% and in London the FTSE 100 lost 52 points or 0.68%. Meanwhile Spain’s IBEX 35 gained 29 points or 0.29% and the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 slumped 12 points or 0.36%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.37% to $1,314.10 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.05% to 60.45 a barrel. The U.S dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.35% to 91.67.