US stocks rise as Apple surges
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Traders working on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York City, on Aug 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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- Wall Street rose on August 6, led by Apple's 5% gain after announcing a US$100 billion investment plan, reducing tariff concerns.
- Markets shrugged off Trump's new tariffs, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.7% and the Nasdaq close to a record high.
- Disney fell despite a profit increase, while McDonald's rose 3% but cautioned about low-income consumer cutbacks.
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NEW YORK - Wall Street stocks rose on Aug 6 with Apple and most other large tech companies rallying as markets largely shrugged off US President Donald Trump’s latest tariff hikes.
Apple piled on more than 5 per cent after White House officials said the tech giant plans an additional US$100 billion (S$129 billion) in capital spending in the United States.
Amazon and Google parent Alphabet were among the other large tech names that also rose.
“By standing up and publicly announcing a domestic investment with President Trump, it reduces the likelihood of Trump imposing new tariff burdens on Apple,” said FHN Financial’s Chris Low.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.2 per cent at 44,193.12.
The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 6,345.06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.2 per cent to 21,169.42, less than 10 points from an all-time record.
Mr Trump ordered an additional 25 per cent tariff
A new wave of Trump tariffs is due to take effect on Aug 7 on dozens of other economies.
But the Aug 6 gains suggest investors are becoming more inured to the levies.
“This is a market that’s fuelled by enthusiasm,” said Mr Jack Ablin, of Cresset Capital Management. “Nothing has blown up yet. Perhaps the impact of tariffs won’t be as great as investors originally feared.”
Among individual companies, Disney fell 2.7 per cent as it reported around a doubling of profits to US$5.3 billion and announced a series of new deals to boost its upcoming ESPN streaming venture.
But McDonald’s jumped 3 per cent as it reported an 11 per cent rise in profits to US$2.3 billion. While the fast food giant returned to sales growth at US stores, it warned that low-income consumers were cutting back amid financial pressures. AFP
