STOCKS RALLY, APPLE KEEPS FALLING AFTER SUMMERS WITHDRAWS: Here's What You Need To Know

Markets were happy to get rid of a little uncertainty.

First, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 15,477.7, +101.6, +0.6%
• S&P 500: 1,696.2, +8.2, +0.4%
• NASDAQ: 3,714.6, -7.6, -0.2%

And now the top stories:

• On Sunday afternoon, controversial former Treasury Larry Summers withdrew his name from the race to be the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve. "I have reluctantly concluded that any possible confirmation process for me would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interests of the nation's ongoing economic recovery," Summers wrote in a letter to President Obama.
• "Larry Summers' withdrawal from the race for Fed chair will likely be interpreted by markets as bullish for US interest rate curve trades, duration more generally, and risk assets (including credit and equities)," wrote PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian in a piece for Business Insider. "It may also impact the manner in which the outcome of this week's important Fed policy meeting is interpreted by markets."
• Industrial production accelerated to 0.4% growth in August, while slightly missing expectations for 0.5% growth. "The rise in manufacturing activity is somewhat consistent with a much stronger set of readings from the ISM survey, which showed production above 6% over July and August; the latter suggests manufacturing production should accelerate further," said Deutsche Bank's Joe LaVorgna. "Within the manufacturing details of today's release, the production of computer and electronic components, which is used to estimate equipment spending within the GDP accounts, rose +1.6% in August, which translates into a 7.9% annualized gain thus far in the quarter relative to Q2."
• Shares of Apple continued their descent, falling by 3% today.
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