Why Apple is rallying in morning trading

Apple (AAPL) is rallying this morning (around +2.8% to the ~$318 as of mid-morning ET on August 19, 2026), mainly due to a major overhaul of its App Store terms for European developers that investors view as reducing regulatory risk.
Apple announced changes (following collaboration with the European Commission) that scrap the controversial per-install Core Technology Fee for apps distributed outside the App Store. It replaces that with a simpler flat 5% “Core Technology Commission”