Stocks kick off new month with strong gains

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are surging after surprisingly strong growth in U.S. and Chinese manufacturing allayed worries about the global economy.

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index grew to 56.3 in August from 55.5 in July. Economists had been expecting a decline.

The positive report comes after a series of weak indicators on the U.S. economy got investors worried that the domestic recovery was losing steam.

Stocks were already climbing today after a report out of China showed that manufacturing was also growing in that country.

The Dow Jones industrial average is up 221, or 2.2 percent, at 10,237. The S&P 500 is up 26, or 2.5 percent, at 1,075, while the Nasdaq composite is up 52, or 2.5 percent, at 2,166.