Apple soars, but industrial, energy stocks drag market

NEW YORK — Apple surged to its biggest gain in a year and a half Wednesday and drew closer to $1 trillion in value after it reported stronger iPhone sales and rising prices. But losses for energy and industrial companies left major stock indexes lower.

Already the most valuable company in the U.S., Apple was the biggest gainer of any S&P 500 stock Wednesday and the technology giant finished at another record high. That made up for a lot of losses elsewhere in the market.

Investors were following reports that the Trump administration is considering a higher tax rate on Chinese imports. Energy and materials companies fell with the price of oil and metals and car companies also declined.

Bloomberg News reported that the Trump administration might put a 25 percent tax on $200 billion in imports from China, above the 10 percent it has been considering. China again threatened to retaliate. A day earlier, stocks got a boost from a report the two sides were hoping to hold more talks to resolve their trade war.

China can’t match the size of the tariffs the U.S. could put on Chinese exports. But Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust Wealth Management, said the Chinese government is counteracting the new and proposed tariffs by pumping more money into the economy and weakening its currency.

“They’re sending a strong signal that they cannot just withstand, but they can manage through a period of turmoil related to the negotiations and they’re prepared to do that.”

The S&P 500 index rose 3.6 percent in July in spite of the trade war between the U.S. and China. The markets got a lift from strong company earnings as well as efforts by the U.S. and European Union to resolve their trade differences.

As expected, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, but suggested it’s likely to raise rates again in September. High-dividend stocks like consumer products makers sank as bond yields increased. Automakers fell as they reported their monthly sales and Ferrari plunged after it said it might not make some of the profit goals laid out by Sergio Marchionne, its late former CEO.

Apple said the average selling price for the iPhone jumped 20 percent in its latest quarter and its third-quarter profit and sales both surpassed analyst projections. Apple’ s third fiscal quarter is usually its weakest. The company’s forecast for fourth-quarter revenue also topped Wall Street estimates.