Europe stepped aside for one day to allow China to take the stage and coerce investors to reach for the Pepto Bismol. HSBC issued its preliminary report on Chinese manufacturing activity for September, and the initial readings show it’s set to fall for an eleventh straight month. That’s bad news for metal and manufacturing companies, as well as those who count on China as a prime export partner. For the session, the S&P 500
Companies that helped the S&P 500
Chef Boyardee would be proud! ConAgra Foods
Oil and natural gas exploration and production company Denbury Resources
Companies that hindered the S&P 500
Thursday’s “disaster du jour” award goes, without question, to J.C. Penney
Norfolk Southern
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