S&P; 500 has Apple to thank for another jump higher
Investors have Apple Inc. to thank for yet another notch higher for the Standard & Poor’s 500.
The benchmark index is now at its highest level in almost four years thanks to the 2% rally in Apple shares. The company announced on Monday that it plans to initiate a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share and authorize a $10 billion stock buyback.
The big run-up in Apple shares this year has had a big influence on the S&P 500, accounting for nearly 10% of the index’s year-to-date gain. It also makes up about a quarter of the S&P 500’s tech sector gain since January.
The S&P 500 rose 9.06 points, or 0.65%, to 1,413.22 in midday trading, and is now at its highest level since May 2008. The index is still below the all-time high of 1,565.15 reached in October 2007.
The index is up 12% so far this year and on pace to record its best first-quarter performance since 1998. Apple’s shares are up 47% during the same time period.
With just a few hours left in the trading day, other closely watched indexes are also higher. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 31.53 points, or 0.24%, to 13,264.03 and the Nasdaq composite added 29.91, or 0.98%, to 3,085.16.
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