I got a few upbeat email alerts today from Fox Biz. Blame Obama:

The Conference Board’s index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 72.2 in October from a downwardly revised 68.4 in September. The results missed estimates of a reading of 72.5, but marked the index’s highest level since February 2008.

And this:

The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI gauge rose to 51.7 in October from 51.5 in September, the highest reading since May. The index was expected to fall to 51.2. Readings above 50 indicate expansion while those below indicate contraction.

And this:

Several upbeat reports on the American and Chinese economies, coupled with strong earnings from oil behemoth ExxonMobil, are sending stocks zooming higher. The Dow is up 138 points, or 1.1%, while the broader S&P 500 is up 0.84%. Nine of ten S&P 500 sectors are in the green, led by industrial, technology and telecommunications stocks.

Full market update: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/11/01/data-give-wall-street-boost/

And here’s more from CNN:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Private sector hiring jumped in October, according to a report released Thursday by payroll processor ADP.

Private employers added 158,000 jobs in the month, ADP (ADP, Fortune 500) said, beating economists’ forecasts of 143,000.

The October report is the first to feature ADP’s new methodology aimed at further aligning its figures with the final monthly data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ADP report comes out a day before the government’s official monthly job report, though it has not always been a great predictor of what the BLS report will say.