US stocks rise as Apple leads Nasdaq surge

Enthusiasm about Apple's latest product launches have propelled US stocks higher, with the tech-rich Nasdaq posting the largest gains of the three major indices. At the closing bell on Wednesday, the Nasdaq Composite Index stood at 4,586.52, up 34.24 points (0.75 per cent). The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 54.87 (0.32 per cent) to 17,068.74, while the broad-based SP 500 tacked on 7.34 (0.37 per cent) to 1,995.78. Apple shares started slowly before picking up momentum and finishing the day more than 3 per cent higher. Several analysts raved about its smartwatch and new mobile payment system, among the products unveiled Tuesday. Other technology names also rose, including Twitter (+4.5 per cent) and Facebook and Priceline (both +1.0 per cent). But eBay fell 3.1 per cent on worries that the new Apple payment system threatens its own PayPal service. Dow member ExxonMobil fell 0.6 per cent as oil prices dropped to new multi-month lows. Caterpillar, another Dow component, shed 1.4 per cent following a downgrade by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Wednesday's trade showed an 'outperformance by the glamour stocks, but the broad market is a little foggy,' said Mace Blicksiliver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, according to skynews.com