Media stocks gained more than the market in early trading on Wednesday ahead of details of a new online TV product announcement expected from Apple Inc later in the day.

Stocks of content owners like Comcast Corp, CBS Corp, Cablevision Systems Corp, New York Times Co and News Corp were up between 4 and 6 percent.

Apple is expected to announce a new version of its Apple TV product along with a new 99-cent online video rental service after negotiating deals with Walt Disney Co and News Corp.

I don't see any major catalyst driving these actions, it seems to me the sentiment has gotten a little bit better because of the sell off in August, said Tuna Amobi, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's.

It's a broad based rally across content, distribution, it seems like the entire market is now reacting favorably.

U.S. stocks climbed more than 2 percent after data showed the manufacturing sector grew more quickly than expected in August and new signs of growth in China and Australia.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 2.3 percent while The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2.5 percent, as did The Nasdaq Composite Index.

The S&P Media Index rose 3.5 percent.

(Reporting by Yinka Adegoke and Jennifer Saba; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

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