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Apple’s stock soars, but energy and industrials weigh on the market

Reflections in the window of the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square.
(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
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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.

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The S&P 500 index slid 2.93 points, or 0.1%, to 2,813.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 81.37 points, or 0.3%, to 25,333.82. The jump in Apple stock was worth 77 Dow points.

The Nasdaq composite added 35.50 points, or 0.5%, to 7,707.29, but the Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks lost 1.54 points, or 0.1%, to 1,669.26.

The S&P 500 index rose 3.6% 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.

Apple said the average selling price for the iPhone jumped 20% 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.

Apple surged 5.9% to $201.50, and it finished the day with a market value of $990.4 billion.

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Automakers mostly slid. Ferrari dropped 11% to $118 after new CEO Louis Camilleri warned that the company might not be able to reach the revenue targets outlined by his predecessor, the late Sergio Marchionne.

Bond prices sank. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3% from 2.96%. Higher yields force interest rates on mortgages and other loans higher, making it more profitable for banks to lend money. However, rising yields drew investors to bonds and away from high-dividend stocks like consumer goods makers.

Benchmark U.S. crude dropped 2% to $67.66 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell 2.5% to $72.39 per barrel in London.

The price of gold gave up 0.5% to $1,227.60 an ounce. Silver fell 0.7% to $15.45 an ounce.

The dollar fell to 111.56 yen from 111.83 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1664 from $1.1697.

Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.2% and Germany’s DAX fell 0.5%. The French CAC 40 dipped 0.2%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9% and South Korea’s Kospi added 0.5%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 0.9%.


UPDATES:

2 p.m.: This article has been updated with the market’s close.

12:10 p.m.: This article has been updated with late-morning activity.

This article was originally published at 7:30 a.m.

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