New York - AFP
Manufacturing data trumped news of a debt-ceiling compromise struck in Washington and sent U.S. stocks down Monday morning. The Institute of Supply Management said its headline index measuring manufacturing activity dropped from 55.3 in June to 50.9 in July, marginally above the break-even point of 50. The news sent stocks down despite President Barack Obama\'s announcement that Republicans and Democrats had resolved a weeks-long impasse in budget negotiations that had threatened, had no deal been struck, to push the country into default. In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 44.37 points, 0.37 percent, to 12,098.77. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 index shed 7.10 points, 0.55 percent, to 1,285.18. The Nasdaq composite index lost 10.67 points, 0.39 percent, to 2,745.71. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 18/32 to yield 2.735 percent. The euro fell to $1.4267 from Friday\'s $1.4398. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 76.59 yen from Friday\'s 76.77 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 1.34 percent, 131.98, to 9,965.01.