Tuesday was marked by ISM Manufacturing PMI figures. The October PMI registered 51.9 percent, an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the September reading of 51.5 percent. The New Orders Index registered 52.1 percent, a decrease of 3 percentage points from the September reading of 55.1 percent. The Production Index registered 54.6 percent, 1.8 percentage points higher than the September reading of 52.8 percent. The Employment Index registered 52.9 percent, an increase of 3.2 percentage points from the September reading of 49.7 percent.

On Wednesday ADP job figures were published. Private sector employment increased by 147,000 jobs from September to October according to the October ADP National Employment Report. “Job growth appears to be shifting from small to large companies due to the lessening impact the global economic environment had on large companies earlier in the year,” said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and head of the ADP Research Institute.

However, the focus of the session was on FOMC interest rate decision. Federal Reserve policy makers left interest rates unchanged while saying the argument for higher borrowing costs strengthened further amid accelerating inflation, reinforcing expectations for a hike next month.“The committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has continued to strengthen but decided, for the time being, to wait for some further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Wednesday following a two-day meeting in Washington. The decision was 8-2.

Thursday brought Unemployment Claims figures. In the week ending October 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 265,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 258,000. The 4-week moving average was 257,750, an increase of 4,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 253,000. There were no special factors impacting this week's initial claims. This marks 87 consecutive weeks of initial claims below 300,000, the longest streak since 1970.

Focus of Friday's session was on NFP figures. U.S. jobs continued to rise at a steady pace in October and wage gains accelerated, signs that the labor market and economy made steady progress at the start of the fourth quarter. Payrolls climbed by 161,000 last month following a 191,000 gain in September that was larger than previously estimated, a Labor Department report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for 173,000. The jobless rate fell to 4.9 percent, while wages rose from a year earlier by the most since June 2009.

This week markets will be looking at:

Presidential Election (Tuesday)

Unemployment Claims (Thursday 14:30)

Prelim UoM Consumer Sentiment (Friday 16:00)