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* Apple boosts S&P 500, Boeing lifts Dow
* Caterpillar off after lowering profit forecast
* Texas Instruments leads declines among chip stocks
* Boston Scientific, Thermo Fisher jump on upbeat profits
* Indexes up: Dow 0.24%, S&P 500 0.11%, Nasdaq 0.04%
(Updates to open, adds background)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Arjun Panchadar
Oct 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were propped
up by a rise in shares of Boeing and Apple, but gains were
capped as weak earnings from Caterpillar and Texas instruments
raised concerns about the impact of the U.S.-China trade war on
global growth.
Apple Inc AAPL.O shares rose 1%, after Morgan Stanley said
the iPhone maker's soon-to-be-launched video streaming service,
Apple TV+, could boost its services revenue.
A 4% rise in Boeing Co BA.N shares lifted the blue-chip
Dow Jones index .DJI after the planemaker reaffirmed the
timeline for its grounded 737 MAX's return to service.
However, a profit warning from Texas Instruments TXN.O
hinted that the chip industry was being squeezed both by a
downturn in global demand and by the U.S.-China trade war. The
company's shares were down 7%.
Caterpillar Inc CAT.N slipped 1% following its
disappointing forecast. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX fell 1.6% in
early trading, while the S&P 500 industrials sector .SPLRCI
dipped 0.1%.
"What I think is causing the hesitation is the fear of other
bellwether companies also disappointing," said Andre Bakhos,
managing director at New Vines Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New
Jersey.
Investors are now waiting for results from big tech firms,
with Microsoft Corp MSFT.O scheduled to report after market
close.
"A name like Microsoft could counter a McDonald's and
investors' mindsets could be brought back on track while we wait
for trade and continual monitoring of the economic cycle,"
Bakhos added.
The earnings season has largely been upbeat, with over 80 of
the 100 companies topping analysts' estimates for profit,
according to Refinitiv data. But analysts still project the
first earnings contraction since 2016.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 65.46 points,
or 0.24%, to 26,853.56, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.38 points,
or 0.11%, to 2,999.37 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
3.20 points, or 0.04%, to 8,107.50.
The S&P 500 .SPX is hovering near its record high on signs
of progress in trade talks between the world's top two
economies.
A handful of healthcare companies with low exposure to China
rose on strong results. Drugmaker Alexion Pharmaceuticals
ALXN.O gained 5.7% after raising full-year forecast.
Medical device makers Boston Scientific Corp BSX.N and
Thermo Fisher Scientific TMO.N gained about 5% each as
quarterly profits beat estimates.
However, Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N fell 5% after the
drugmaker missed third-quarter revenue estimates. Shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O dropped 2%
after JPMorgan downgraded the drugstore chain's stock to
"neutral" from "overweight".
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.30-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.07-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 23 new highs and 32 new lows.