The Nasdaq Composite opened higher in Wednesday’s trading session, boosted by Apple’s earnings announcement on Tuesday as the tech giant announced revenue generation of $53.3 billion and an EPS of $2.34–both results beating analyst estimates of $52.3 billion and $2.18 per share.
Apple shares were up over 4 percent to $197.95 in after-hours trading and are currently up 5.34% as of 10:45 a.m. ET. The Nasdaq Composite was up over 50 points, the S&P 500 gained 10 points and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was over 70 points in the green.
Five ETFs with the heaviest weightings in Apple were up, such as iShares U.S. Technology ETF Technology Equities (NYSEArca: IYW)–up 1.34%, Vanguard Information Technology ETF Technology Equities (NYSEArca: VGT)–up 1.23%, Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund Technology Equities (NYSEArca: XLK)–up 1.06%, Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF Technology Equities (NYSEArca: FTEC)–1.12%, and iShares Edge MSCI Multifactor Technology ETF Technology Equities (BATS: TCHF)–up 0.32%.
Related: Tech Earnings: Apple, Tesla, Baidu Report This Week
Strong Payroll Numbers
The markets got an extra boost from strong employment data from ADP and Moody’s Analytics–both reported that private payrolls in the U.S. grew by 219,000 in July, which bests the 185,000 gain forecasted by Reuters. The job gains in July were the best since February, which is a positive precursor to the forthcoming report from ADP and Moody’s that will highlight the U.S. government’s monthly nonfarm payrolls report–scheduled for release on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
“The ADP survey has never been a great guide to the actual payrolls figures, but there is plenty of other evidence suggesting that jobs growth has remained strong,” said Andrew Hunter, U.S. economist at Capital Economics. “Most employment surveys are at a high level, while initial jobless claims recently touched their lowest level in almost 50 years. With activity booming on the back of the fiscal stimulus, the continued strength of the labor market will keep the pressure on the Fed to continue raising interest rates.”
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