NEW YORK (Reuters) - A deepening trade dispute between the United States and China weighed on global stocks and bond yields on Thursday, but a rise in Apple shares took its valuation above a record $1 trillion and helped lift major U.S. indexes into positive territory.
A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
In midday trading, Apple Inc became the first publicly traded company with a market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion. That led a rebound in technology stocks that helped key U.S. indexes pare earlier losses to turn positive.
“It’s certainly a tremendous achievement to create a company with a $1 trillion market cap,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. Still, he said, “it’s just a number.”
The tech company’s stock jumped more than 3.3 percent to as high as $208.38, bringing its gain to about 9 percent since Tuesday when it reported quarterly results that beat expectations and said it bought back $20 billion of its own shares.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.12 points, or 0.03 percent, to 25,325.7, the S&P 500 gained 13.16 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,826.52 and the Nasdaq Composite added 91.32 points, or 1.18 percent, to 7,798.61.
The Nasdaq, Dow and benchmark S&P indexes had opened lower, but began to turn positive as the advance in Apple shares helped take the focus away from the trade dispute.
Still, concerns remained over the U.S.-China trade spat, which intensified on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump raised pressure on China by proposing a higher 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
China on Thursday urged the United
