Afternoon Markets: Manufacturing boost drives Dow

US stocks pushed ahead after a report showed a revival in manufacturing activity in August after a year and a half of contraction.

The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to trade at 9,551.23 in opening exchanges after an initial struggle to find direction. Industrial bellweather Caterpillar topped the gainers, up 2% to $46.24, while chemicals firm Du Pont was close behind, ahead 1.85% to $32.51. Walt Disney was also in favour, up 1.77% after it agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, the owner of well-loved comic book characters, including Spiderman and Captain America, for $4bn (£2.5bn). Meanwhile, in the UK, the FTSE curbed earlier losses, down 20.13 points, or 0.4%, to 4,888.77, but miners and o...