A big gain from Apple on Wednesday morning sent the Dow Jones industrial average above 22,000 for the first time. Most other industries were trading lower, with healthcare and household goods companies slipping. Movie theater companies plunged after AMC Entertainment gave a weak forecast and said it would cut costs.
KEEPING SCORE:
The Dow, which tracks 30 big-name U.S. companies, was up 58 points, or 0.3%, to 22,021 as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern Time.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index, a much broader market measure used by most professional investors, was little changed at 2,476. The Nasdaq composite rose 11 points, or 0.2%, to 6,373. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks fell 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,423.
More stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
APPLE GETS AN 'A':
Apple climbed 5.6% to $158.40 after it reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that were better than experts anticipated.
The company is forecasting $49 billion to $52 billion in revenue for the current quarter, which ends in September. That was also above estimates, and it's better than the same quarter last year, when the iPhone 7 was released. Some experts feared that delays for the next iPhone model would cause Apple to forecast far lower sales.
ILLUMINA LIGHTS UP:
Genetic tools company Illumina jumped 12.6% to $193.95 after it raised its projections for the rest of the year following solid results in the most recent quarter. The company said demand for its NovaSeq genetic sequencing system was better than expected.
HORROR FILM:
Movie theater operators plunged after AMC Entertainment said U.S. box office receipts dropped 4.4% in the second quarter, and it expects the third quarter to be difficult too. AMC is also taking a charge of more than $170 million because its investment in another chain, National CineMedia, lost value. The company is planning to slash costs by making changes including discounts, cuts in operating hours and staff levels, and new pricing plans.
AMC shares dived 23.8% to $15.85. Regal Entertainment sank 4.2% to $18.29. Cinemark Holdings slid 5.3% to $37.67.
OIL:
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 6 cents to $49.22 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, ticked up 13 cents to $51.91 a barrel in London.
BONDS:
Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note remained at 2.25%.
CURRENCIES:
The dollar rose to 110.60 yen from 110.30 yen. The euro edged up to $1.1828 from $1.1801.
OVERSEAS:
Germany's DAX was unchanged, as was the CAC 40 of France. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5%. South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index each advanced 0.2%.
By: Associated Press.
Photo: Standard Republic.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.