U.S. stocks trade higher on IPhone 5 debut, Spain hopes

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks gained on Friday as Apple's IPhone 5 was placed for sale in stores around the globe and a report said Spain was mulling measures in expectation of a bailout fund.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 22.22 points, or 0.16 percent, to 13,619.15. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.77 points, or 0.26 percent, to 1,464.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 12.99 points, or 0.41 percent, to 3,188.95.

Apple started to sell its new IPhone 5 in stores on Friday in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris and New York. Analysts expected it to be the company's best-selling product. Apple's share topped 700 U.S. dollars for the first time on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank increased its target price for the shares to 850 dollars from 775 dollars. The share has been traded around the level of 704 since the market opened.

Meanwhile, Spain has reportedly begun considering a series of structural reforms to meet the requests of the bailout fund and the plans would be disclosed on Sept. 27. However, Spain's deputy prime minister later denied the government was discussing the plans, but analysts said there seemed to be progress in helping Spain. Enditem