NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks shook off an early stumble and were mostly higher in midday trading on Wall Street, led by gains in technology companies as Apple reached $1 trillion in value. Energy, industrial and basic materials companies fell after the White House said it will consider even higher tariffs on Chinese imports, escalating a trade conflict between the world's two biggest economic powers. Overseas markets were lower.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index rose 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,819 as of 12:10 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 25,268 as companies including Boeing, McDonald's and Goldman Sachs slipped. The Nasdaq composite rose 56 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,764. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 4 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,674.
TRILLION DOLLAR TITAN: Apple rallied for the second day in a row and its market value reached $1 trillion shortly before noon. It is the first publicly traded company to hit that milestone.
The stock later returned a bit of that gain. With a rise of 2.6 percent to $206.76, Apple's value stood at $999 billion at 12:10 p.m. Eastern. Its stock jumped 5.9 percent Wednesday after Apple announced strong quarterly revenue and higher iPhone sales prices and gave a solid forecast for the current period.
TRADE TALK: The Trump administration said it might put a 25 percent tax on $200 billion in imports from China. That is up from a 10 percent tax it proposed in June. The government will seek public comment on the higher tariffs. A hearing on the levies is scheduled for Aug. 20-23.
Industrial and basic materials companies fell for the second day in a row. Aerospace company Boeing lost 1.4 percent to $347.88 and industrial equipment and software maker Rockwell Automation slid 2.7 percent to $179.48. Earnings also affected materials makers: chemical company DowDuPont fell 3.5 percent to $65.60 and paper and packaging maker WestRock plunged 5 percent to $54.29.
TRIPPED UP: TripAdvisor sank 15.4 percent to $48.76 as the travel booking site reported weaker sales than analysts expected and said revenue from hotels decreased.
JUICED UP: Tesla climbed 10.5 percent to $332.39. The electric car maker said production of its lower-cost Model 3 sedan is growing and CEO Elon Musk said the company doesn't expect to need to raise more money from investors.
SNAKE EYES: Wynn Resorts reported profit and sales that missed estimates following a decrease in income from its Macau operation. The stock dropped 5.2 percent to $150.07. That comes a day after Caesars Entertainment said it expects weak results in the current quarter because of fewer scheduled events and lower room rates in Las Vegas. Caesars fell 0.3 percent to $9.56 after a 15 percent drop Wednesday.
BONDS: Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.99 percent from 3 percent.
Companies that pay large dividends, including utilities and real estate investment trusts, held up better than the rest of the market as investors looked for safer options. Procter & Gamble gained 0.8 percent to $81.33 and Clorox rallied 5.1 percent to $140.95 after its fiscal fourth-quarter profit was greater than analysts expected. Energy company Exelon rose 1.4 percent to $42.59.
OVERSEAS: The DAX index in export-reliant Germany tumbled 1.5 percent and the CAC 40 in France lost 0.7 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 1 percent after the Bank of England raised its main interest rate.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index sank 1 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.2 percent. The Kospi in South Korea shed 1.6 percent.
CENTRAL BANKS: The Bank of England raised its key rate, as expected, but said it would be cautious about further increases as Britain prepares to leave the European Union. The bank's main interest rate is the highest it's been since 2009, during the global financial crisis. The pound fell to $1.3061 from $1.3130.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.9 percent to $68.93 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 1.2 percent to $73.25 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 111.49 yen from 111.56 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1618 from $1.1664.
– by Marley Jay, AP reporter
