Investing.com -- U.S. stocks opened the fourth quarter on a mixed note rallying late in the session, even as disappointing manufacturing data throughout the globe weighed on all three major indices.
On Thursday morning, The Institute for Supply Management said its index of National Factory Activity fell to 50.2 last month, below expectations for a reading of 50.5. Although any reading above 50 indicates expansion, the index fell to its lowest level since May, 2013. It followed downbeat reports in overnight trading, as manufacturing data in China fell 0.1 to 47.2 in September, its lowest level in six and a half years. The manufacturing sectors in Germany and the U.K. expanded at a slower rate than expected last month, while factory activity in France rose faster than its estimated pace.
Coming off its worst quarter in more than four years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell slightly on Thursday during a choppy day of trading. The NASDAQ Composite index and S&P 500 Composite index, though, posted moderate gains after turning. The Dow rallied after a 211 point decline earlier in the session, but still closed negative after losing 12.69 or 0.08% to 16,272.01. The NASDAQ, meanwhile, gained 6.91 or 0.15% on Thursday to close at 4,627.08, in spite of steady losses from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The S&P 500 rose 3.79 or 0.20% to 1,923.82, as stocks in 5 of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Health Care, Basic Materials and Consumer Services led, while stocks in the Utilities, Telecommunications and Technology sectors lagged.
Shares in Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) fell more than 8% to 24.72, one day after reports surfaced that the social media giant was expected to name interim CEO Jack Dorsey as the permanent head of the company. Dunkin Brands Group Inc (NASDAQ:DNKN) shares, meanwhile, tumbled more than 12% to $43.00 after the company offered weak full-year guidance and announced plans to close 100 stores.
The top performer on the Dow was Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which rose 0.43 or 1.37% to 31.84. Pfizer finished just ahead of Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD), which gained 1.54 or 1.33% to 117.03, as customers along the East Coast stocked up in advance of the possible arrival of Hurricane Joaquin. The worst performer was Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which fell 0.52 or 1.98% to 25.73 after it announced the acquisition of Portcullis Computer Security, a U.K- based consulting firm.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Verisk Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:VRSK), after Standard & Poor's announced Thursday that the New Jersey-based data analytics firm will be replacing Joy Global (NYSE:JOY) on the S&P 500 starting on Oct. 7. Shares in Versik Analytics added 4.25 or 5.75% to 78.16. The worst performer was Illumina Inc (NASDAQ:ILMN), which plummeted 18.61 or 10.58% to 157.21.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB), which surged 2.13 or 5.78% to 38.99. Earlier in the week, Energy Transfer Equity announced that it is acquiring the pipeline operator in a $37.7 billion deal. The worst performer was CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX), which fell 0.67 or 6.84% to. U.S. crude futures fell slightly on Thursday to close under $45 a barrel on a see-saw day of trading.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 1,590 to 1,521 margin.