U.S. stocks rally after manufacturing data

U.S. stocks traded higher on Monday, the first trading day in November, as investors digested a batch of manufacturing data and awaited non-farm payrolls.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 92.60 points, or 0.52 percent, to 17,756.14. The S&P 500 rose 13.54 points, or 0.65 percent, to 2,092.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 43.89 points, or 0.87 percent, to 5,097.64.

Financial data firm Markit reported Monday that the final read on October manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) picked up to a six-month high at 54.1, up from 53.1 in September.

The Institute for Supply Management said Monday the October PMI registered 50.1 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the September reading of 50.2 percent, but above market expectations of 50.0 percent.

Traders will also look to non-farm payrolls this week for hints on the timing of interest rate hike from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The U.S. central bank left the federal funds rate unchanged, but signaled option to tighten policy rate at its next meeting in December, according to the statement released last week following its two-day meeting.

In corporate news, shares of Visa fell nearly 3 percent in the morning session on Monday, after the company posted lower-than-expected quarterly profit.

The credit card issuer reported financial results Monday before the opening bell for the company's fiscal fourth quarter. Visa also announced a definitive agreement for Visa to acquire Visa Europe, creating a single global company.

U.S. stocks closed lower Friday as investors digested economic data and quarterly earnings reports, but ended October with their best monthly gain in four years. Enditem