Apple Treading Above $100 Despite Stocks Dropping in Midday Trading

Stocks were down across the board in midday trading Friday as traders look ahead to the Fed meeting next week. A positive retail sales report this morning is fueling speculation on the timing of interest rate hikes. More signs of consumer health: the latest reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index showed a rise in September to 84.6 and beat forecasts. Financial stocks are managing to gain in the session, both Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) are going against the trend among the blue chips. Over on the Nasdaq, tech giants are mixed. Apple (AAPL) is managing to stay above $100 while Google (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) are both dropping. Ulta (ULTA) is a big gainer in the session. The beauty products retailer is up 20 percent after beating Wall Street's earnings expectations. Ulta is also looking good to investors for raising its full year outlook.