Stocks opened in positive territory as the Dow scored a new all-time high and has added to it during the morning. The market’s move has been broad, with each of the major averages is higher by about 0.5%. The morning’s economic data was better than expected, with the ADP payroll report in particular giving some added confidence about what Friday’s monthly jobs report has in store. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., ADP reported that private payrolls surged 230,000 in September, which was better than the 184,000 job additions expected. Markit’s services index fell 1.3 points from the prior month to 53.5 in the final September print, though that was slightly better than the 52.9 preliminary figure. The ISM services index jumped 3.1 points to 61.6 in September, marking a new record high. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of General Motors (GM) are up 2.5% near midday after the company and its Cruise unit announced a partnership with Honda (HMC) to build a new self-driving vehicle and work towards large-scale deployment of autonomous vehicle technology. Honda will contribute approximately $2B over 12 years to these initiatives, which, together with a $750M equity investment in Cruise, brings its total commitment to the project to $2.75B… Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP) are rising after the company named Jill Soltau, the former president and CEO of fabric and crafts retailer Joann Stores, as its new chief executive officer. The CEO role has been vacant since Marvin Ellison resigned earlier this year to become the CEO of Lowe’s (LOW). MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Alcoa (AA), which gained 6% after Norsk Hydro (NHYDY) announced that its alumina refinery Alunorte in Brazil is preparing for full curtailment of its operation. Also higher was Tempur Sealy (TPX), which gained 11% after Reuters reported that competitor Mattress Firm plans to file for bankruptcy protection as soon as this week. Among the notable losers was Century Aluminum (CENX), which slipped 13.5% after the Norsk Hydro news. Also lower was Acuity Brands (AYI), which fell 13.5% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 161.61, or 0.6%, to 26,935.55, the Nasdaq was up 47.50, or 0.59%, to 8,047.04, and the S&P 500 was up 13.81, or 0.47%, to 2,937.24.
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