The markets continued to advance during the midday with the Dow climbing 83 points to 21,836. Nasdaq gained 22 points to 6,398.
The nation's trade gap edged up by a smaller than expected 0.3% in July to $43.7 billion. Imports and exports of goods and services as well as motor vehicles and parts slipped while exports of capital goods rose. The trade deficit with China climbed as exports gained 3.5% while imports increased 3.1%.
As Apple prepares for the launch of its latest iPhone and iOS operating system, developers have been busy creating augmented reality apps for the latest device. Ikea demonstrated an app that allows images of nearly 2,000 Ikea products to be superimposed into customer's homes. The Food Network created a dessert decorating game for users to decorate cakes, cupcakes or pies then share their work of art on social media.
Kohl's will begin selling Amazon devices such as Fire tablets and Echo voice enabled smart speakers at ten locations in Los Angeles and Chicago. Amazon sales associates will staff the store-within-a-store and assist customers in using and selecting devices. The partnership is the latest of Amazon's efforts to expand its presence to traditional brick-and-mortar retail spaces.
The broader S&P 500 rose 9 points to 2,467. Bitcoin leaped $246 to $4,630.
