Stocks climb as Apple pulls tech companies up
NEW YORK - U.S. stocks are climbing Thursday as Apple leads a big gain for technology companies. Energy companies are higher along with the price of crude oil. Bond yields have returned some early gains and are currently flat.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 130 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,165 as of 12:29 p.m. ET. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 16 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,141. The index had fallen five days out of the last six. The Nasdaq composite added 59 points, or 1.1 percent, to 5,233.
Apple made its fourth strong gain in a row as investors became more optimistic about early sales of its newest iPhone models. The stock added $3.05, or 2.7 percent, to $114.82, its highest price of 2016. The stock is up 11 percent so far this week. Other technology companies also rose. Hewlett Packard Enterprise gained 57 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $21.93 and Global Payments picked up $2.15, or 2.9 percent, to $75.67.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 38 cents to $43.96 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 80 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $46.65 a barrel in London. Among energy stocks, Noble Energy rose 50 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $43.47 and Chevron gained $1.35, or 1.5 percent, to $99.77.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber climbed after the company boosted its dividend and said it plans to return $4 billion to shareholders over the next few years. The stock rose $1.65, or 5.4 percent, to $32.46.
Aerie Pharmaceuticals surged $11.37, or 53.8 percent, to $32.50 after the company reported positive results from a late-stage trial of Roclatan, an experimental glaucoma drug.
Online brokerage E-Trade rose $1.18, or 4.3 percent, to $28.42 as investors liked what they saw in a presentation about the state of E-Trade’s business.
AMC Networks fell $1.38, or 2.7 percent, to $50.59 after Stifel Nicolaus analyst Benjamin Mogil downgraded the company because competition is growing and ratings for “The Walking Dead” may weaken.
Wells Fargo lost 80 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $45.73. Regulators said last week that the bank opened more than 2 million accounts that customers may not have authorized and transferred money into those accounts without their approval. The company agreed to pay a $185 million fine and says it will cut back on aggressive sales targets, but the controversy is damaging its reputation.
The stock is mired in a five-day losing streak that has pulled its value down 8 percent.
Americans spent less money at car dealers and furniture and building materials stores last month. The Commerce Department said total retail sales fell 0.3 percent in August, which ended a streak of four consecutive monthly gains.
Bond prices held steady after an early stumble. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 1.70 percent.
The dollar slid to 102.40 yen from 102.42 yen. The euro dipped to $1.1240 from $1.1249.
The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares traded 0.2 percent higher. Germany’s DAX slid 0.3 percent while the CAC 40 of France fell 0.6 percent. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.3 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.6 percent.