May 01, 2012- Markets Close Off Daily Highs

After moving sharply higher in morning trading on Tuesday, stocks gave back some ground over the course of the afternoon but still saw some strength on the day. The markets benefited from a positive reaction to an upbeat report on national manufacturing activity. The major averages pulled back well off their highs for the session but managed to end the day in positive territory. The Dow rose 65.69 points or 0.5 percent to 13,279.32, the Nasdaq edged up 4.08 points or 0.1 percent to 3,050.44 and the S&P 500 climbed 7.91 points or 0.6 percent to 1,405.82. Despite the pullback seen in the latter part of the trading day, the Dow still finished the session at its best closing level in over four years. The rally seen in morning trading came on the heels of the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing that activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector unexpectedly expanded at a faster rate in the month of April. The ISM said its purchasing managers index climbed to 54.8 in April from 53.4 in March, with a reading above 50 indicating an expansion in manufacturing activity. With the increase, the index rose to its highest level since coming in at 55.8 in June of 2011. The increase by the index came as a surprise, as most of the regional manufacturing indexes had pointed to a slowdown in the pace of growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to edge down to a reading of 53.0.