Nasdaq adds to record but S&P, Dow trade flat

US stocks ended mostly little-changed Wednesday but the Nasdaq Composite added to its record high, helped by a 0.6 percent jump in Apple shares after the company unveiled two new iPhones.

Airline shares also surged after several offered good outlooks at a transportation conference.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished off less than 0.1 percent at 18,526.14.

The broad-based S&P 500 was virtually unchanged at 2,186.15.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite, which punched through to a new record on Tuesday, added another 0.2 percent to a fresh high of 5,283.93.

Apple shares got a modest lift after the company revealed upgraded versions of its iPhone and a new waterproof smartwatch.

Allegiant Travel, operator of Allegiant Air, led the airline sector higher with an 8.2 percent gain after reporting improving revenues based on capacity, Bloomberg said.

Delta jumped 5.7 percent, United 5.0 percent, and American 4.8 percent, as others in the industry also indicated stronger forecasts.

Computer memory manufacturer Western Digital climbed 12.1 percent after giving stronger earnings targets for this quarter.

Burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill surged 5.9 percent on news that Wall Street activist investor William Ackman, known to pressure boardrooms for better investor returns, had picked up a 9.9 percent stake in the company.

Oil driller Apache Corp. jumped 6.7 percent after reporting a solid oil and gas field discovery in western Texas.

Apache estimated the "Alpine High" discovery contains three billion barrels of oil and 75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Grocery chain Whole Foods Market meanwhile sank 5.3 percent after a rival, Sprouts Farmers Market, cut its earnings outlook citing downward pressure on prices.