“There is some relief from the fear of a significant pause before the 10th anniversary iPhone refresh,” said Michael Obuchowski, chief investment officer at Merlin Capital LLC in Boston, which holds Apple stock. “I’m beginning to think it won’t matter if the new iPhones aren’t that exciting.”

Apple is likely to introduce three new handsets this year: a revamped top model, known for now as the iPhone 8, and upgrades to the existing iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, people familiar with the plans have told Bloomberg News. The high-end iPhone will include an organic light-emitting diode screen, and inadequate OLED supplies mean that it will not be as readily available as the cheaper handsets at launch, the people said.

Cook said reporting about the new versions of the iPhone “has created a pause” in consumer buying “that is likely larger than previously.” Apple’s stock has soared on expectations that the new high- end smartphone, which will also include a front-facing three- dimensional sensor to enable facial recognition, will spur a resurgence in demand that will carry into the holiday quarter and beyond. Sales growth of the company’s flagship product has slowed over the past two years as the market has become increasingly saturated and competitors have offered cheaper products with similar capabilities.

New Technologies
Slowing smartphone sales have prompted Apple to invest more heavily in developing new technologies. It’s working on smart glasses, an autonomous driving system, improved health and fitness offerings, and its own semiconductor technology.

Research and development spending jumped 15 percent to $2.9 billion in the most recent quarter. Apple unveiled the early fruits of its spending on augmented reality technology in June, releasing a set of tools which let developers build AR software for the iPhone and iPad when the next operating system for those devices is rolled out later this year. Cook has over the past 18 months repeatedly said how excited he is about the prospects for AR.

Cook is preparing to release Apple’s first new hardware category since 2015. The HomePod, the smart speaker that will go on sale in December, is the company’s response to Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Home speakers. The company is hoping that advanced acoustic capabilities will encourage consumers to pay $349 for the device -- almost three times as much as the Google Home.

Eoin Treacy's view

Apple faces stiff competition in the smartphone market but comes with two distinct advantages. The size and breadth of the app store is a considerable benefit for the company and acts as an anchor for customers. The second is Apple’s followers are among the most devoted fans of any brand and represent a latent source of demand for new products.

The fact sales are picking up ahead of the release of the 10th anniversary edition of the iPhone also reflects the firmer global economic environment. That is also helping to flatter earnings for many multinationals and the weakness of the Dollar since November has been an additional bullish factor.

Apple surged higher following the US Presidential election and has been consolidating since March. Today’s announcement is likely to be a bullish catalyst and a sustained move below the trend mean would be required to question medium-term scope for additional upside.

The Nasdaq-100 Index has been ranging below the psychological 6000 level since June and pulled back sharply from that area on Thursday to confirm at least near-term resistance. While the decline was not sustained through the close there is still scope for a further pause. Meanwhile a sustained move below the trend mean would be required to question medium-term uptrend consistency.