US stocks add to records ahead of Apple launch
Wall Street stocks rose early yesterday, adding to records ahead of a big Apple product launch and as worries about US hurricanes continued to recede. Apple dipped 0.3 percent ahead an event expected to launch new iPhone models to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the game-changing smartphone. Analysts expect one of the new offerings to include augmented reality capabilities and facial recognition features.
The S&P 500 closed at a record Monday after Hurricane Irma caused less damage in Florida than feared, and as anxiety about North Korea’s nuclear program diminished. Those dynamics were still in play early yesterday, analysts said. About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones industrial Average was at 22,117.29, up 0.3 percent. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.2 percent to 2,493.74, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.1 percent to 6,439.23.
DowDuPont advanced 2.7 percent after confirming it was on target to save $4 billion following the completion of its merger. The chemicals giant also tweaked its plan to restructure into three companies to try to placate some shareholder activists who had criticized the original plan. Goldman Sachs rose 1.7 percent after executives laid out plans to boost profitability by $2.5 billion over the next three years in part by hiring more staff in fixed income and currencies trading. The weakening of Irma, the second major natural disaster to hit the United States after Hurricane Harvey, allayed concerns about the severity of its financial impact.
“Investors have gained confidence that the worst is over and concerns over Irma’s economic impact seem to have disappeared for the moment,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director of Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey. All eyes will be on Apple as it prepares to unveil the 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone, whose sales will also have repercussions on its rivals and many suppliers.
Apple shares dipped 0.3 percent ahead of the event, scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. ET (1700 GMT). At 9:39 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 64.64 points, or 0.29 percent, at 22,122.01 and the S&P 500 was up 6.76 points, or 0.27 percent, at 2,494.87. The Nasdaq Composite was up 16.20 points, or 0.25 percent, at 6,448.46. Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 1.03 percent rise in materials index. DowDupont rose 3 percent after the company said it was making changes to a plan of splitting itself into three. The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&P.
The market also seemed to shrug off North Korea’s threat that the United States would soon face the “greatest pain” it had ever experienced in the wake of the UN stepping up sanctions against Pyongyang on Monday due to its nuclear tests. North Korea yesterday rejected the UN Security Council resolution, which imposed a ban on the country’s textile exports and capped crude oil imports.
“Although North Korea is a threat and can make the market nervous because of uncertainty, more and more global powers are coming on board, taking the pressure off of just the US dealing with it. About that, the investors feel good,” Bakhos said. Sage Therapeutics slumped more than 19 percent after its drug to treat a life-threatening seizure disorder failed in a late-stage trial. Teva rose 5.24 percent after the drugmaker agreed to sell its contraceptive brand, Paragard, for $1.1 billion to a unit of Cooper Cos, whose stock was flat. —Reuters