BANK OF ENGLAND'S monetary policy committee member MANN said the UK labour market is somewhat stalled rather than slack.

S&P Global's UK construction PMI rose to 46.1 in September from 44.3 in August, above the 44.9 forecast but still below the 50 cutoff, signalling continued output contraction. The residential subindex improved yet remained in contraction, denting the Labour government's hopes for a housing-led recovery. Firms cited higher interest rates, rising inf and weak orders, and said uncertainty from the Middle East conflict was prompting delays to large project decisions. The future activity expectations index fell to its lowest level since May.

Major U.S. indices closed higher on Monday, Oct 5: Dow Jones Industrial Average up 91.30 points (0.18%) at 51,268.26; S&P 500 up 51.27 points (0.66%) at 7,773.99; Nasdaq Composite up 286.45 points (1.05%) at 27,477.31.