Morning Rally Reverses On ISM Report.(A)

Byline: CHRIS GESSEL

Soft manufacturing data spoiled a decent rise in the stock market Monday morning.

Stocks moved higher at the open following a weekend of headlines from the war on terror. The capture of a key al-Qaida leader and Iraq's destruction of a few of its al-Samoud 2 missiles eased some tensions weighing on Wall Street.

But the U.S. and U.K. dismissed Iraq's latest moves, which included a pledge to report on its VX nerve gas and anthrax stocks to the U.N. within a week.

"How do you know this is not the mother of all distractions, diversions, so the world looks in one place while he buries them in another?" said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

"The president has said the timetable is weeks, not months," Fleischer added. "He said that just over a month ago and nothing has changed that timetable."

Hours before those hawkish statements hit the wires, the S&P 500 had run up 1.3%. The Nasdaq had gained as much as 1.2%. Volume was rolling in more than 10% heavier than Friday morning.