MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Edge Higher; S&P 500 Tops All-time-high Closing

By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

Factory orders climb 2.1% in March, first gain in 8 months

U.S. stocks rose moderately on Monday, with the large-cap benchmark S&P 500 trading above its previous closing record.

Investors digested a report on factory orders, which rose 2.1% in March, mostly in line with expectations. Monday's gains follow the rally on Friday, when stocks posted their biggest one-day gain in a month.

The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 9 points, or 0.4%, to 2,118 with eight of its 10 main sectors trading higher. Utilities and health-care stocks were leading gains in early trade.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) gained 71 points, or 0.4%, to 18,095, while the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) rose 22 points, or 0.4% to 5,027.

Read: Icahn: Junk bonds now 'even more dangerous' than stock market (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/icahn-junk-bonds-now-even-more-dangerous-than-stock-market-2015-05-03)

Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors, noted the resilience of markets to mediocre earnings and data.

"Perhaps, markets are looking past the 2015 earnings and discounting 2016 earnings, climbing higher. However, when stocks are fairly priced and investors are nervous, as they are right now, any bad news can result in a massive selloff," Ogg said.

Ogg noted that in a slow-growth environment, corporations are able to adjust to imbalances without causing recessions. "When the economy is growing at 2% pace, there is no impetus to hire or invest in capital expenditures. Though, with wages ticking up and labor market tightening, we expect companies will pick up in capital spending.," he noted.

Data: Orders for goods produced in U.S. factories rose 2.1% in March. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected orders to climb 2.4% after a revised 0.1% decline in the prior month.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans will give a speech in Columbus, Ind., at 12:25 p.m. Eastern Time, while San Francisco Fed President John Williams will speak to a small-business trade group in San Francisco at 3:10 p.m. Eastern.

Wall Street is looking ahead to the nonfarm-payrolls report due Friday. Forecasters predict job creation in April will bounce back significantly after a disappointing 126,000 increase in March, which was the smallest in 15 months.

Read: Roses or thorns? Wall Street awaits pivotal jobs report for April (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/roses-or-thorns-wall-street-awaits-pivotal-jobs-report-for-april-2015-05-03)

Stocks to watch: McDonald's Corp. (MCD) shares were slightly lower after chief executive Steve Easterbrook unveiled turnaround plan.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) announced that its longtime head, John Chambers, (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ciscos-john-chamber-to-relinquish-ceo-role-in-july-2015-05-04) is being replaced in July internally by Chuck Robbins. Shares rose 0.6%.

Comcast Corp.(CMCSA) said it would buy back $6.75 billion in shares in 2015, as it reported earnings rose in the first quarter. Shares rose 1.5%.

Read: Media, smaller energy companies provide bulk of results as earnings taper off (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/media-smaller-energy-cos-provide-bulk-of-results-as-earnings-taper-off-2015-05-03)

Shares of Charter Communications Inc.(CCMMV) rose 1.7% after The Wall Street Journal (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/charter-expresses-interest-in-friendly-deal-talks-with-time-warner-2015-05-03-15103119) reported, citing sources, that the company has started to approach the management of Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) about a friendly merger.

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/icahn-junk-bonds-now-even-more-dangerous-than-stock-market-2015-05-03)Other markets: The German DAX 30 index was up 1.5%, leading gains for European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-edge-lower-with-uk-market-closed-2015-05-04) after the release of robust manufacturing data for the eurozone. London markets are closed for a bank holiday.

China's Shanghai Composite Index , meanwhile, closed higher on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-shares-drift-lower-2015-05-03), recovering from earlier losses after data showed the country's manufacturing activity slowed more sharply than forecast. Tokyo markets were closed for a holiday.

The dollar regained some strength on Monday, with the euro (EURUSD) pulling back to $1.114, a 0.5% drop. Oil prices (CLM5) also moved higher, along with gold (GCM5).

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