Results from the world’s biggest company, Apple, which trumped forecasts, lifted tech shares on Wednesday, May 2, drove the global stocks market to a positive place.
Gains in apple also put Wall Street on track for a firmer session despite some trepidation over a Fed meeting later in the day.
Expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will signal more policy tightening ahead kept investors wary of big market moves, especially after currency markets were roiled this week by the dollar’s surge to 3 1/2-month highs against a basket of currencies.
The world’s biggest company by market capitalization beat profit and revenue expectations in the first quarter, thanks to robust iPhone sales, and it announced a $100 billion share buyback.
Germany-listed Apple shares jumped 5.7 percent and the New York-listed stock was 3.6 percent higher in pre-market trade.
“The headline news from Apple on iPhone sales has been taken well and there’s a relief bounce today across Apple supply chain names which had been hit in recent weeks,” said Neil Campling, co-head of the global thematic group at Mirabaud Securities.
The results lifted Europe’s tech index 1.2 percent to a six-week high, led by an 8 percent surge in shares in AMS, provider of the facial recognition technology used in iPhones.
Chipmakers STMicroelectronics, Infineon, BE Semiconductor and ASML also gained 1.1 to 3.8 percent, enjoying the positive mood on the sector.
U.S. equity futures signaled the S&P500 would open 0.2 percent higher. Futures for the Nasdaq tech benchmark were half a percent higher, Reuters reports.
Tech gains were less marked in Asia, where markets in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong all closed weaker. Campling said the Apple results had raised some “red flags”, including high inventory levels and a lower average selling price for its handsets.
