A rebound in Apple shares helped push US stocks higher today, breaking the market’s two-day string of losses.
Apple shares jumped 3.1 percent to $101, the most actively traded on the Nasdaq, after several brokerages raised their price targets on the iPhone maker.
Its shares had ended down slightly on Tuesday. Investors took profits in the stock after the company launched the iPhone 6 and introduced a new product, the Apple Watch.
Several companies that deal in wireless and cash-less payments rose today, as well, in the wake of Apple announcing the Apple Pay mobile payment service.
Shares of On Track Innovations Ltd jumped 6.9 percent to $3.55. Net Element Inc more than doubled, up 119 percent to $3.80. But eBay Inc fell 3.1 percent to $51.10 as analysts viewed as a threat to PayPal, its online payment service.
Wednesday’s gains follows two sessions of losses for the S&P 500.
Energy shares were among the biggest drags for the second session this week, following another decline in oil prices. US crude futures fell to a 16-month low, while Brent fell to a 17-month low.
The S&P energy index ended down 0.3 percent. The index is down 3.9 percent for the month so far.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 54.84 points, or 0.32 percent, at 17,068.71, the S&P 500 gained 7.25 points, or 0.36 percent, at 1,995.69 and the Nasdaq Composite added 34.24 points, or 0.75 percent, at 4,586.52.
The largest percentage gainer on the New York Stock Exchange was Daqo New Energy, which rose 14.43 percent, while the largest percentage decliner was Pulse Electronics, which fell 21.94 percent.
Among the most active stocks on the NYSE were US-listed shares of Petrobras, down 2.52 percent at $17.38, and Rite Aid, up 2.54 percent at $6.46.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,612 to 1,414, for a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,646 issues rose and 1,049 fell for a 1.57-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.
The broad S&P 500 index posted 14 new 52-week highs and five new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 52 new highs and 60 new lows.
About 5.5 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, matching the average for the last five days, according to data from BATS Global Markets.
European stocks in turn ended flat today, as worries over Scotland’s vote on independence and growing expectations of a more hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve kept investors on edge.
The market has become concerned that supporters of Scottish independence have been gaining in opinion polls, a week before a referendum on the issue. They were also worried by rising US bond yields, anticipating a more hawkish tone at a Fed policy meeting next week.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.02 percent higher at 1,385.77 points. The benchmark index has erased all the gains spurred by the European Central Bank’s moves last week to support the region’s economy.
Around Europe, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.1 percent and both France’s CAC 40 and Italy’s MIB lost 0.04 percent. Spain’s IBEX slipped 0.1 percent, weighed by a drop in the shares of Santander.
The Spanish bank lost 0.7 percent as the death of its chairman prompted worries over succession. Emilio Botin, who transformed Santander from a small domestic lender into the euro zone’s biggest bank, died of a heart attack last night.
Shortly after the European market’s closing bell, Santander’s board of directors said in a statement they have appointed Ana Botin as chairwoman to replace her father.
UK’s FTSE 100 index ended flat, while sterling hit a 10-month low against the dollar, with traders citing an online survey on Scottish independence which gave the «Yes» camp a strong lead.
Market talk surrounded another poll due to be released later by the Survation polling agency for the Daily Record. The agency said on Twitter that those results would be «very interesting».
Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei share average closed higher, erasing earlier losses after the yen plumbed its weakest levels for six years against the dollar, which lifted exporters such as Honda Motor Co and Panasonic Corp.
The Nikkei closed 0.3 percent higher to 15,788.78, moving close to a seven-month high of 15,829.38 hit last week.
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