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Stocks opened little changed and drifted during the opening hour of trading with little to push the market in any specific direction. However, a Wall Street Journal report that the U.S. had approached China about resuming trade negotiations spiked the Dow to a triple digit gain, which it was unable to hold. In the final hour of trading, the Dow regained some momentum and moved higher while the Nasdaq closed with modest losses as weakness in chipmakers weighed on the tech-heavy index. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the producer prices index fell 0.1% in August for both the headline and core figures, which was below expectations. In trade news, the Wall Street Journal reported that senior U.S. officials recently invited Chinese counterparts to another meeting to talk about bilateral trade to address U.S. concerns before implementing additional tariffs. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Apple (AAPL) closed a bit over 1% lower after the company's product event, during which it unveiled three new iPhones. The tech giant announced the iPhone XS and XS Max, its "most advanced iPhones ever," which will be available in stores September 21. It also showed off the iPhone XR, available October 26, which Apple said integrates "breakthrough technologies from iPhone XS" in a cheaper model with an LCD screen. Apple also announced the Apple Watch Series 4, which includes several new health features. Fitbit (FIT), which sells health trackers and smartwatches, fell nearly 7% following Apple's unveiling of its new device... Shares of Micron (MU) dropped 4% after Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney downgraded the stock to Neutral as he sees weaker fundamentals for memory chips ahead... Tobacco company shares rose after FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that the agency might ban flavored e-cigarettes as part of its efforts to address the "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette use. Following the statements from the commissioner, Altria Group (MO) gained 7%, British American Tobacco (BTI) rose 6% and Philip Morris (PM) added 3%... Additionally, CBS (CBS) was in focus after the company said that "60 Minutes" executive producer Jeff Fager is leaving CBS News effective immediately. The company said that the move "is not directly related to the allegations surfaced in press reports, which continue to be investigated independently. However, he violated company policy and it is our commitment to uphold those policies at every level." MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Galapagos NV (GLPG), which surged 16.5% after it and Gilead (GILD) said that the FINCH 2 study of filgotinib met its primary endpoint. Gilead shares rose 2.4% after the news. Also higher was Bausch Health (BHC), which gained 14% after its Salix subsidiary and Salix's licensors agreed to resolve the outstanding intellectual property litigation with Actavis Laboratories FL, regarding Xifaxan 550 mg tablets. Among the notable losers was Macom (MTSI), which dropped 12% after Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold. Also lower was Snap (SNAP), which fell 7% after BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral. INDEXES: The Dow rose 27.86, or 0.11%, to 25,998.92, the Nasdaq lost 18.25, or 0.23%, to 7,954.23, and the S&P 500 advanced 1.03, or 0.04%, to 2,888.92.

Stocks opened mixed and drifted during the opening hour of trading as the averages seemed to lack direction. The Dow jumped after The Wall Street Journal reported the U.S. was proposing a new round of trade talks with China, though the Nasdaq continues to lag as several semiconductor stocks underperform following analyst rating changes. Oil prices have moved higher following the weekly DOE inventory report, which saw a bigger than expected draw in supply, and as Hurricane Florence moved closer to the U.S. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the producer prices index fell 0.1% in August for both the headline and core figures, which was below expectations. In trade news, the Wall Street Journal reported that senior U.S. officials recently invited Chinese counterparts to another meeting to talk about bilateral trade to address U.S. concerns before implementing additional tariffs. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Apple (AAPL) are down 1% near noon ahead of the company's product unveiling event, which kicks off later this afternoon. It is widely expected that the company will take the wraps off three new iPhones and possibly a new iteration of the Apple Watch... Shares of Micron (MU) have been under pressure this morning after Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Delaney downgraded the stock to Neutral as he sees weaker fundamentals for memory chips ahead. Delaney said he expects Micron's gross margin to decline sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2018 through mid-2019, noting that the stock is historically well correlated with the company's gross margin. His view of margin declines is due to lower memory average selling prices, both from more "challenging" DRAM conditions and also NAND oversupply... Tobacco company shares rose after FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said that the agency might ban flavored e-cigarettes as part of its efforts to address the "epidemic" of youth e-cigarette use. Following the statements from the commissioner, Altria Group (MO) gained 7%, British American Tobacco (BTI) rose 6% and Philip Morris (PM) added 4%. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Galapagos NV (GLPG), which surged 17% after it and Gilead (GILD) said that the FINCH 2 study of filgotinib met its primary endpoint. Gilead shares rose 2% after the news. Also higher was Bausch Health (BHC), which gained 14% after its Salix subsidiary and Salix's licensors agreed to resolve the outstanding intellectual property litigation with Actavis Laboratories FL, regarding Xifaxan 550 mg tablets. Among the notable losers was Macom (MTSI), which dropped 12% after Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold, citing cycle peak and debt concerns. Also lower was Snap (SNAP), which fell nearly 9% after BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral, saying his previous assumption that "communications apps were sticky and would protect engagement" was incorrect. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 49.05, or 0.19%, to 26,020.11, the Nasdaq was down 50.44, or 0.63%, to 7,922.04, and the S&P 500 was down 3.72, or 0.13%, to 2,884.17.