NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Apple Inc. rose Monday as anticipation grew ahead of the annual Macworld conference and expo, at which the gadget and computer maker is expected to announce plans to enter the movie-rental business.
Last year, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone. This year, who knows.
Apple shares rose $5.20, or 3 percent, to $177.89 in morning trading.
The tech sector experienced a general boost during morning trading, after a strong preliminary fourth-quarter earnings estimate from International Business Machines Corp. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose more than 25 points to 2,465.09 in morning trading.
The annual Macworld conference, at which Apple often unveils new products and services, was set to begin Monday in San Francisco and run through the week. Last year, Apple used the event to introduce the iPhone and Apple TV set-top box, setting off months of frenzied anticipation over the iPhone in particular, which was released in late June.
In an early Monday note to clients, Banc of America Securities analyst Scott D. Craig predicted several new product announcements will come at Macworld.
Like many others, the analyst expects Apple to announce a digital movie rental service that operates through its online iTunes Store.
"While we are not sure about timing, as this is largely dependent on deals with the movie studios, we believe that the company may use Macworld as an opportunity to introduce such a service," he wrote.
He also anticipates the introduction of an ultra-slim notebook, refreshed iPhone and iPod Touch models with increased storage capacity. He added it's possible that Apple also will announce a refreshed Apple TV.
Craig also thinks it is also possible that Apple will introduce a touch-screen tablet during the conference.
"We do note that historically, tablets have not sold well at other vendors, so we would like to see what is new with Apple's potential tablet and how it may be used," he wrote.
Craig also raised his first-quarter earnings estimates for Apple, citing healthy demand for the company's desktop and laptop computers.
The analyst rates Apple shares "Buy" with a $200 price target.
In a client note, JPMorgan analyst Bill Shope echoed many of Craig's predictions about Macworld, noting it will be hard for Apple to top last year's iPhone launch.
Also, the analyst doesn't see evidence that any Macworld announcements "will force any near-term change in estimates or sentiment."
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