U.S. stocks tilt up as Apple lifts Nasdaq

From MarketWatch:

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks on Monday edged upward as Wall Street sought direction and Apple Inc. climbed on a $1 billion verdict.

“It looks like kind of a blurring trading day, which might be indicative of a relatively boring week, although we do have Jackson Hole coming up, but that’s at the very end,” Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Investments, said of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech scheduled for Friday in Wyoming. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi could offer hints at ECB policy when he follows Bernanke in speaking Saturday at the Fed’s annual symposium.

“A lot of this rally off the late May or early June lows is from Draghi’s comments that the ECB would do whatever it takes to keep the euro together, so any clarity he can bring to that statement will be viewed positively,” said Smith.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.03%  climbed 7.36 points to 13,165.7.

The S&P 500 index SPX +0.25%  rose 3.86 points, or 0.3%, to 1,414.99, with telecommunications the worst performing and technology faring best among its 10 sectors.

Apple shares AAPL +2.09%  gained 2% after the consumer technology company won a patent fight with South Korean rival Samsung Electronics Co. KR:005930 -7.45%   SSNLF +5.36%