US STOCKS-Wall St edges higher with Apple, though economic data mixed

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* Sept flash services jobs shrink for the first time in
9-1/2 yrs
* Services sector PMI 50.9 vs 50.7 for Aug
* Indices up: Dow 0.3%, S&P 0.2%, Nasdaq 0.2%

(Updates to late afternoon)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher in
late afternoon trading on Monday, helped by gains in shares of
Apple Inc, though mixed economic cues in the face of a prolonged
U.S.-China trade war limited the advance.
Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 0.9% after U.S. trade regulators
approved 10 out of 15 requests for tariff exemptions by the
iPhone maker. Micron Technology Inc MU.O , which supplies components to
Apple, rose about 1.8%. The chipmaker is set to post its fourth
quarter results on Thursday.
Meanwhile, U.S. employment in the services sector shrank for
the first time in nine-and-a-half years in September, IHS
Markit's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) showed on Monday. At
50.9, the services sector PMI was below expectations of 51.3.
The data also showed manufacturing activity rose in
September, topping expectations. Earlier in the day, a survey showed a manufacturing
recession deepening in Germany, Europe's biggest economy.
Investors have been cautious about progress in Sino-U.S.
trade talks after a Chinese agriculture delegation canceled a
visit to Montana. The news on Friday led to Wall Street's main
indices posting their worst session in about two weeks.
"People are tentative and want to sit on the sidelines.
We're sitting here just below highs, and there's no urgent need
to chase them unless they break out, and of course no one wants
to sell them either," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market
strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 66.39 points,
or 0.25%, to 27,001.46, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.84 points,
or 0.20%, to 2,997.91 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
15.83 points, or 0.19%, to 8,133.50.
Other domestic economic reports due in the final week of the
third quarter include core personal consumption data, the
Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, a final reading on
second-quarter GDP and the Conference Board's consumer
confidence reading for September.
Juniper Networks Inc JNPR.N rose 2.2% as Needham upgraded
the network gear maker's stock to "buy".
Boeing .BA.N edged lower after a Reuters report that
European antitrust regulators were set to investigate the
planemaker's $4.75 billion bid for the commercial aircraft arm
of Brazil-based Embraer SA EMBR3.SA . Additionally, the chief of the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration was set to detail progress on the Boeing 737 MAX
aircraft to international air regulators. Social network Facebook Inc FB.O fell 1.3% and was among
the biggest drags on the S&P 500.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.48-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.10-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 45 new lows.