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* Apple rises as JP Morgan lifts shipment volume forecast
* Mallinckrodt up on opioid settlement with Ohio counties
* UnitedHealth slips after downgrade from BMO Capital
Markets
* Indexes up: Dow 0.32%, S&P 0.40%, Nasdaq 0.42%
(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh
Sept 30 (Reuters) - 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 1.3% as Chief Executive Officer Tim
Cook told a German daily, Bild, that iPhone sales were off to a
strong start, and JP Morgan raised its iPhone shipment volume
forecast. Microsoft Corp MSFT.O climbed 0.4%.
The technology sector .SPLRCT gained 0.6%, the most among
11 major S&P sectors. Only energy stocks .SPNY were in the
red, tracking a drop in oil prices. O/R
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 sparked a sell-off on Friday,
with the S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC hitting a more than
three-week low during the session.
However, on Monday, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro
dismissed the reports as "fake news." "If the U.S. goes down this road, it could have some serious
repercussions," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist
at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
"It could possibly lead to the Chinese selling U.S.
Treasuries and could put pressure on the Treasury market, so it
needs to be well thought out before being executed."
China was the second largest owner of U.S. Treasuries in
July, behind Japan, but its holdings were the smallest since
April 2017. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA.N ,
Baidu Inc BIDU.O and JD.com Inc JD.O were up between 1% and
2.2%.
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.
At 9:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 85.32 points, or 0.32%, at 26,905.57, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 11.84 points, or 0.40%, at 2,973.63. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 33.48 points, or 0.42%, at 7,973.11.
In a bright spot, Newell Brands NWL.O jumped 3.5% after
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey upgraded the household goods maker to
"buy" and said it expected the company's turnaround process to
continue well in 2018.
Drugmaker Mallinckrodt MNK.N rose 1.8% after finalizing a
settlement with Cuyahoga and Summit counties in Ohio in
connection with opioid-related lawsuits.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.52-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.55-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 12 new highs and 52 new lows.