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While you were sleeping: UPDATED Apple roars ahead

Apple's iPhone 7 Plus model sells out globally in online pre-orders.

Margreet Dietz
Fri, 16 Sep 2016

Wall Street rose, bolstered by Apple shares, even as the latest US reports show weaker than expected retail sales and manufacturing output, which further reduced bets the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates next week.

A Commerce Department report shows retail sales fell more than expected last month, sliding 0.3% after rising 0.1% in July.

Separately, a Fed report shows factory production slid 0.4% in August, while the New York Fed says its Empire State manufacturing index shrank for a second straight month.

Traders are pricing in an 18% chance of a rate increase at the Fed's meeting on September 21, down from 34% at the start of the month and 20% before Wednesday's data, according to Bloomberg.

"These things are not pointing to the need for the Fed to raise interest rates in September. That's one of the reasons you're seeing a relief rally today," Virginia-based Harris Financial Group managing partner Jamie Cox told Reuters.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 177.71 points, or 1.0%, to 18,212.48, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 1.5% to 5249.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed 1.0% to 2147.26.

Rallies Apple, Intel and Microsoft shares, trading 3.4%, 2.8% and 1.9% higher respectively, led the advance in the Dow. All 30 members of the Dow traded higher.

Apple shares extended their gains amid optimism about the new iPhone, after the company said its iPhone 7 Plus model sold out globally in online pre-orders before its release on Friday.

Oil price rises
Oil prices rose, helping to lift shares of energy companies after two days of losses. US crude oil gained 0.8% to $US43.91 a barrel

Meanwhile, US Treasurys dropped on the latest economic data, pushing yields on 10-year notes three basis points higher to 1.72 %.

"There's nothing in these numbers that tells us rates should be heading up," New Jersey-based Themis Trading managing director and equity trader Mark Kepner told Bloomberg.

"Yields are moving higher overseas and that means there is demand that's going to come out of our bond market and maybe our stock market because those investors that have been trying for yield will leave," Mr Kepner says. "That's more important than the data here."

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the session with a gain of 0.6% from the previous close. France's CAC 40 index added 0.1%, Germany's DAX index rose 0.5%, while the UK's FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.9%.

While the Bank of England stood pat on monetary policy, as expected, it suggested it might cut rates again later this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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Margreet Dietz
Fri, 16 Sep 2016
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While you were sleeping: UPDATED Apple roars ahead
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