NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed this morning following a three-day weekend for Wall Street. The Dow was down about 15 points after the first hour of trading, while the S&P 500 has been relatively flat and the Nasdaq is up.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Manufacturing grew in August at the strongest pace in more than three years. The Institute for Supply Management says its manufacturing index rose to 59 as factories cranked out more goods and new orders rose. Anything above 50 signals that manufacturing is growing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department says construction spending rose 1.8 percent in July, the biggest one-month gain in more than two years. The rebound pushes total construction to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of more than $980 billion. That’s the highest level since December 2008. Spending on housing, non-residential and government projects all increased.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices continue to rise, but more slowly. Real estate data provider CoreLogic says July prices were up 7.4 percent from July 2013, and up 1.2 percent compared with June of this year. Analysts say the moderating price increases could help support sales, with mortgage rates are at their lowest in a year and the number of available homes increasing.

HOUSTON (AP) — Halliburton has agreed to pay $1.1 billion to settle a substantial portion of claims arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Halliburton was BP’s cement contractor on the drilling rig that exploded in the Gulf, killing 11 workers and triggering the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. The settlement is subject to court approval.

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