Stocks up as bull hits 6, Apple Watch details eyed
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After months of hype, the Apple Watch is almost ready for launch. Jefferson Graham reports. VPC
Stocks are gaining steam Monday as the aging bull market turns 6 and Apple investors ponder the launch of the tech titan’s “Watch.”
As of 1:51 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 are up 1% and 0.6%, respectively — a gain of more than 150 points for the Dow. The Nasdaq composite, which had been crisscrossing the break-even mark, is 0.4% higher and firmly in the black.
10-year Treasury yields are declining, but still north of the 2% mark. Oil sold on the U.S. market, which has edged above $ 50 a barrel, is rising.
More details on the Apple Watch are coming at an ongoing company event in San Francisco. It’s been previously announced that the smartwatch — the company’s first big rollout since the iPad — goes on sale in April, with three editions starting at $ 350.
Apple stock, AAPL, is up about 2%.
UH-OH: Is the aging bull in ‘late innings?’
The stock bull market, the one Wall Street predicted would have a short life span when it was born in the shadow of the worst downturn since the Great Depression, turns 6 Monday.
Ironically, despite tripling in value and clocking in as the fourth-longest and fifth-best performing bull market ever, the bull is again facing questions about its longevity amid fears that a key plank of the bull thesis – historically low interest rates driven by Federal Reserve stimulus policies – may be nearing an end.
In corporate news:
■ GM announced a $ 5 billion stock buyback program. GM shares climbed on the news.
■ Alcoa said it plans to buy RTI International Metals for $ 1.5 billion. The deal, aimed at boosting the Pittsburgh icon’s aerospace business, gave a 40%-plus rocket boost to RTI shares.
■ McDonald’s announced worse-than-expected February results, with same-store sales dropping 4% in U.S. stores. Despite that news, MCD shares are up a bit.
Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped around 1%. The SSE composite index of Shanghai climbed 1.9%.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index is down 1.2%. The CAC 40 of France is off 0.5%, while the DAX of Germany is fractionally higher.
U.S. stocks fell Friday after strong jobs data led some investors to speculate that the Federal Reserve may soon raise key interest rates.
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