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* Apple up on JPM's iPhone volume forecast raise, Cook's
comments
* Mallinckrodt up on opioid settlement with Ohio counties
* Merck rises after promising data from cancer drug
* Indexes up: Dow 0.42%, S&P 0.45%, Nasdaq 0.41%
(Adds comment, adds details, updates prices)
By Medha Singh
Sept 30 (Reuters) - Gains in technology stocks led by Apple
lifted Wall Street's main indexes on Monday, as investors looked
past last week's reports that Washington was considering
delisting Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 1.9% as Chief Executive Officer Tim
Cook told a German daily that iPhone sales were off to a strong
start, and JP Morgan raised its iPhone shipment volume forecast.
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O climbed 0.7%.
The technology sector .SPLRCT gained 0.9%, the most among
11 major S&P sectors. Only energy .SPNY and financial .SPSY
stocks were trading in the red.
Still, the main indexes were on course to end the quarter
with their worst performance so far this year, with sentiment
swinging wildly due to developments in the U.S.-China trade war
and mixed indications from domestic economic data.
Reports about the United States curbing Chinese companies'
access to U.S. capital markets had sent the S&P 500 .SPX and
Nasdaq .IXIC to a more than three-week low on Friday.
However, on Monday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro
dismissed the reports as "fake news." U.S.-listed shares of
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA.N , Baidu Inc BIDU.O and
JD.com Inc JD.O were up between 0.8% and 1.5%. "This idea of using different types of levers that impact
the trade negotiations is something that we will get accustomed
to," said Phil Blancato, chief executive officer of Ladenburg
Thalmann Asset Management in New York.
The next round of high-stakes trade talks between two of the
world's largest economies are scheduled for October.
The third quarter witnessed an escalation in U.S-China trade
tensions, the inversion of an important part of the U.S. yield
curve, a second U.S. interest rate cut and political turmoil in
Washington.
The S&P 500 and Dow are on track for their smallest
percentage gain in three quarters, with the Nasdaq heading for a
marginal decline. The benchmark index is now about 2% away from
its record high hit in July.
Click here to view the interactive graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2n5vkTu
At 11:23 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 111.73 points, or 0.42%, at 26,931.98, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 13.30 points, or 0.45%, at 2,975.09. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 32.57 points, or 0.41%, at 7,972.20.
Merck & Co MRK.N gained 1.5% as it presented promising
data for its Lynparza cancer drug, which it develops in
partnership with Britain's AstraZeneca AZN.L . Its shares
helped the healthcare sector gain 0.7%. In a bright spot, Newell Brands NWL.O gained 5.9% after
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey upgraded the household goods maker to
"buy" and said it expected the company's turnaround process to
continue.
The focus this week will be on economic reports, including a
pivotal jobs report and the September ISM purchasing managers
index (PMI). August's PMI data showed a contraction in the
manufacturing sector.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.23-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.02-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 14 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 17 new highs and 91 new lows.
Wall Street's third quarter performance interactive https://tmsnrt.rs/2n5vkTu
Wall Street's third quarter performance png https://tmsnrt.rs/2n60f29
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