Materials Up After Strong Industrial Data -- Materials Roundup

Shares of commodities producers rose after strong industrial data in the U.S. The Institute for Supply Management's gauge of U.S. factory activity hit its highest level since 2004 in September.

Iron ore prices slid last week while Chinese trade data boosted the price of zinc, said analysts at brokerage Credit Suisse, in a research note. Separately, Credit Suisse analysts said the gold mining companies at a recent Denver conference were focused on investments that mitigated "declining production from existing mines" rather than acquiring new ones. One gold mining executive cited "investor fear of repeating the value destructive large scale mergers-and-acquisitions of the last cycle as a key factor that has changed the industry's approach."

Specialty paper-maker Appvion filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday, looking for a way out from under an unsustainable debt load. International Paper agreed to transfer $1.3 billion in pension liabilities to Prudential Financial in an attempt to protect itself from volatility in markets and interest rates.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 02, 2017 16:33 ET (20:33 GMT)