Stocks Kicked Off October with Tech-led Advances

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, with tech shares leading advances, as investors weighed progress toward a fresh round of coronavirus stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 35.20 points, or 0.13%, to 27,816.90. The S&P 500 was up 17.80 points, or 0.53%, to 3,380.80. The Nasdaq Composite rose 159.00 points, or 1.42%, to 11,326.51.

Oil futures were sharply lower Thursday, with prices logging their lowest settlement since mid-September, as worries about rising cases of COVID-19 worldwide fed expectations for a slowdown in energy demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery dropped $1.50, or 3.7%, to settle at $38.72 a barrel. December Brent crude shed $1.37, or 3.2%, at $40.93 a barrel.

US manufacturing activity unexpectedly decelerated in September, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) monthly manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI). The index ticked down to 55.4 in September from 56.0 in August.