US STOCKS-Wall St buoyed by Apple; trade concerns, mixed PMI cap gains

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* Sept flash services jobs shrink for the first time in
9-1/2 yrs
* Manufacturing PMI 51.0 vs 50.3 for Aug
* Apple gains on tariff exemptions
* Facebook among top drags on S&P 500
* Indexes up: Dow 0.10%, S&P 0.10%, Nasdaq 0.10%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Ambar Warrick
Sept 23 (Reuters) - Apple Inc boosted the S&P 500 and the
Nasdaq on Monday, even as gains were limited by mixed economic
cues in the face of a prolonged U.S.-China trade war.
Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 0.5% 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 1.9%. 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 manufacturing recession
had deepened in Germany, Europe's biggest economy. "We had some macro news today, but nothing that would change
the sentiment in the market, which is tied to trade," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities
in New York.
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
indexes posting their worst session in about two weeks.
"The latest negative news out of trade talks last week has
brought a lot of uncertainty in the market. We are stuck in a
trading range and the feeling is one of global disparity,"
Cardillo said.
The so-called defensive sectors - consumer staples .SPLRCS
and real estate .SPLRCR - were the top gainers among six of
the 11 major S&P sectors trading higher.
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 data and the Conference Board's consumer
confidence reading for September.
At 12:52 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 25.72 points, or 0.10%, at 26,960.79, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 3.09 points, or 0.10%, at 2,995.16. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 7.92 points, or 0.10%, at 8,125.59.
Juniper Networks Inc JNPR.N rose 2.0% 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 plane
maker'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 is set to detail progress on the Boeing 737 MAX
aircraft to international air regulators. Social network Facebook Inc FB.O fell 1.8% and was among
the biggest drags on the S&P 500.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.30-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 19 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 36 new highs and 40 new lows.