STOCKS RALLY: Here's what you need to know

Stocks scaled big-time today, as the S&P 500 rose above 2,100 for the first time since August, and the Nasdaq came within 100 points of its closing high.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 17,822.31, +158.77, (0.90%)
• S&P 500: 2,103.83, +24.47, (1.18%)
• Nasdaq: 5,123.98, +70.23, (1.39%)

And now, Monday's top stories:

1. "It looks as though the downshift in manufacturing activity may be coming to an end." That was Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson in a client note after the ISM's manufacturing PMI report. The PMI was 50.1, right above the border between expansion and contraction. New orders rose to a three-month high, while employment and inventories fell.
2. Meanwhile, Markit Economics' manufacturing PMI was 54.1, a six-month high. "Stronger manufacturing growth in October brings encouraging news after the sector saw the pace of expansion slump to a two-year low in the third quarter," said Markit's Chris Williamson in a release.
3. Goldman downgraded Valeant. Analysts bumped down the stock to "Neutral" from "Buy" and cut their 12-month price target 32% to $122 from $180. "Given that so many questions about certain aspects of VRX's business model have been raised (e.g., scrutiny on pricing, specialty pharmacies, M&A),we have less confidence that the market will reward the stock anytime soon without clarity as to the path forward," the analysts wrote.
4. Short-selling firm Citron Research released a new report on Valeant that just might be the last. It said "our work here is done" in the report that basically didn't have anything "dirtier than anyone has reported", like Citron tweeted on Friday. Valeant shares rallied by as much as 7% in trading.
5. Chipotle shares dropped by as much as 4%, following news of an E. coli scare over the weekend. The Oregon Health Authority said three people near Portland and 19 near Washington who ate at Chipotle on October 14 or after were hospitalized. Health officials in Minnesota and Ventura County, California, investigated illness outbreaks linked to Chipotle in the last four months. The company stopped serving pork at several restaurants earlier this year after some suppliers violated its strict standards.
6. Billionaire investor George Soros pulled $500 million from an investment in Janus Capital with Bill Gross. The cash was in Janus' Quantum Partners fund, a private fund separate from the Janus Capital Unconstrained Fund that Gross runs.

DON'T MISS: The world's economic 'canary in the coal mine' has no good news to offer »

NOW WATCH: Donald Trump's 'strange' morning habit tells you everything you need to know about him