Back in black! Dow turns positive for 2015

Adam Shell | USA TODAY

After registering its best monthly return in four years last month, U.S. stocks kicked off November with nice rally as investors react to a batch of corporate deals, fresh economic data and brace for another big week of corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up about 165 points, or 0.9%, turning positive for the calendar year. The S&P 500 ended 1.2% higher and the Nasdaq composite powered 1.5% higher.

For first time since Aug. 18 the S&P 500 closed above 2100. And that broadly based benchmark — now at 2104.05 — is nearing its all time closing high of 2130.82.

October was a big month for the bulls, with the broad Standard & Poor's 500 stock index rising 8.3%, its best monthly performance since October 2011. Stocks got a lift from a good start to the third-quarter earnings season and the Federal Reserve's decision to hold off on raising interest rates.

Wall Street digested economic reports on U.S. manufacturing and construction as well as a report out of China which showed a manufacturing "contraction" again in October.

Factory activity in the U.S. grew at a slower pace as the Institute for Supply Management reported its manufacturing index fell to 50.1 in October from 50.2 in September. The data shows the sector barely grew as a reading below 50 signals contraction.

The housing sector fared a little better as construction spending rose 0.6% in September to its best level since March 2008.

In individual stock news:

• Shares of Mexican chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) ended down 2.5% after the company closed some restaurants out West in response to reports of suspected E-coli infection traced to its restaurants in Washington and Oregon.

• Dyax (DYAX) saw its stock soar nearly 29% after the Irish pharmaceutical firm Shire agreed to buy the Burlington, Mass.-based biotechnology company for about $5.9 billion.

• Shares of credit card processor Visa (V) fell 3% after reporting quarterly earnings that fell a penny shy of estimates and announcing a deal to acquire Visa Europe for more than $23 billion.

• ConAgra (CAG) sold its private label unit to TreeHouse Foods (THS) in a $2.7 billion deal. ConAgra rose 0.9% and TreeHouse fell 5.6%.

Stocks were mixed around the globe. Shares in China and Hong Kong were dragged down by the weak manufacturing data out of mainland China, with its so-called PMI coming in inline with forecasts at 49.8, according to Barclays, but still below 50, which signals contraction. The Shanghai composite fell 1.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 1.2%.

"The sub-50 (manufacturing number out of China) still suggests underlying growth momentum remains lackluster," Barclays told clients in a note this morning.

In Europe Germany's DAX was up 0.9% and the CAC 40 in Paris was 0.4% higher.

Stocks advance amid mixed factory data Nov. 2 -- Bloomberg's Matt Miller updates the latest markets news. He reports on "Bloomberg Markets."

Adam Shell on Twitter: @adamshell.