Apple leads rebound on Wall Street

Wall Street rose on Wednesday as Apple surged to its highest this year, rising for the third day in a row in contrast to the oscillation in the stock market.

Apple (AAPL.O) rose as much as 4.7 per cent to $113.03 and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P and the Dow on reports of strong demand and positive reviews for the new iPhones.

The bounce in U.S. stocks on Wednesday extended the oscillating trend, that started on Friday, due to contrasting comments from Federal Reserve officials on whether the central bank would raise interest rates at its Sept. 20-21 meeting.

The benchmark S&P 500 index tumbled Friday, bounced on Monday before again retreating on Tuesday.

“With a seasonal backdrop, high valuations and concerns over disparate monetary policies by central banks, it will likely remain a choppy environment,” said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio manager at the Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank in New York.

At 12:21 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 68 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 18,134.75.

The S&P 500 index .SPX was up 9.12 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 2,136.14.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 42.55 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 5,197.81.

The CBOE Market Volatility index .VIX, dubbed Wall Street’s fear gauge, had spiked and dropped with the stock market’s gyrations, resembling moves last seen around the Brexit vote in June. The index was down 5.7 percent on Wednesday.

Eight of the 10 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by the technology sector’s .SPLRCT 1 per cent jump.

“The cyclicals are doing well and that points to an underlying appetite to participate in the market, with the feeling that there is still some compelling valuations,” Weigand said.

Oil prices dropped two per cent, sending the S&P energy index .SPNY down 0.77 percent.

Monsanto (MON.N) agreed to be bought by Bayer (BAYGn.DE), but its stock rose just 1.4 per cent to $107.60, well below the offer of $128, due to concerns about regulatory approvals.

Vitae Pharmaceuticals (VTAE.O) shares more than doubled to $20.86 after Allergan (AGN.N) said it would buy the company for $639 million. Allergan rose 2.7 percent.

Ford (F.N) fell 1.5 per cent after the automaker said 2017 financial performance would decline from this year’s levels.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,708 to 1,175. On the Nasdaq, 1,676 issues rose and 1,032 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed one new 52-week high and three new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and 32 new lows.