Drop in Apple shares due to weak iPhone X demand drags Wall Street lower

Wall Street's main indexes came under pressure on Tuesday following a 2.8 per cent drop in Apple's shares on a report of weak iPhone X demand.

Apple will slash its sales forecast for its flagship phone in the current quarter to 30 million units, down from what it said was an initial plan of 50 million units, Taiwan's Economic Daily reported, citing unidentified sources.

That, along with some bearish brokerage calls on iPhone X demand, put its shares on track for their worst single-day percentage fall since Aug. 10.

Shares of companies that supply parts to Apple, including Broadcom, Skyworks Solutions, Finisar and Lumentum Holdings, fell between 1.8 per cent and 3.5 per cent.

The S&P technology index fell 0.9 per cent, the only loser among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors.

Most markets around the world, including parts of Europe and Asia, were shut on Tuesday. Trading volumes are also expected to be light in the holiday week.

"It's going to be slow trading for most of the week. A market that's going to stay within a trading range, we could have a plus or a negative day, but nothing exciting," said Peter Cardillo, the chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.

At 9:34 a.m. ET (1434 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 8.32 points, or 0.03 per cent, at 24,745.74 and the S&P 500 was down 2.4 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 2,680.94.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 29.11 points, or 0.42 per cent, at 6,930.86.

Sucampo Pharma surged 6 per cent after Mallinckrodt said it would acquire the drugmaker for $1.2 billion, to gain access to its constipation drug Amitiza. Mallinckrodt shares rose 4.3 per cent.
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Technology stocks boost Wall Street to hit fresh records

Major Wall Street indexes hit fresh records at the open on Monday on gains in financial and technology stocks even as investors awaited a barrage of earnings reports this week.

Apple gained 1.05 percent, providing the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and the S&P after KeyBanc upgraded the stock to "overweight".

Financial stocks gained for the first time in four days, led by bank stocks. Reactions to bank results last week were muted on concerns about credit card losses at JPMorgan and Citigroup and weak trading activity across the sector.

Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley report before markets open on Tuesday. Insurer Travelers jumped 2 percent, providing the biggest boost to the Dow.

Video-streaming pioneer Netflix reports third-quarter results after market.

"The market still wants to be optimistic, it wants to continue to move higher from here," said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Private Wealth.
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Wall Street climbs as North Korea tension eases, S&P tops with 1.12% rise

Wall Street opened higher on Monday, with broad gains across sectors, as investor sentiment was lifted by easing tensions in the Korean peninsula after key US officials played down the risk of an imminent war with North Korea.

All the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with S&P financial's 1.12 per cent rise leading the gainers.

Global stocks lost nearly $1 trillion last week after President Donald Trump warned North Korea that it would face "fire and fury" if it threatened the United States, leading to a war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.

However, US officials including National Security Adviser H R McMaster and CIA Director Mike Pompeo played down the risk on Sunday, while South Korea's president said resolving Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions must be done peacefully.

"Feels as though the North Korean tension seems to be abating a bit, with commentary coming out of China and the United States. But the situation seems to have de-escalated in the near term", said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich
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S&P, Nasdaq slip as tech weighs; Dow hits record high

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost ground in late morning trading on Thursday as tech stocks slipped, while the Dow moved above the 22,000 mark to hit a new record.

The S&P tech index — which has been the best performer in 2017, with a 23 per cent rise — was down 0.39 per cent.

Apple, Amazon and Microsoft were top drags on the S&P and the Nasdaq.

However, Tesla's 7.20 per cent jump eased some pressure on the tech-heavy index after the luxury electric car maker reported quarterly revenue that more than doubled.

"The tech sector is going through a consolidation phase where people are taking some money away from big names and putting it towards underperformers," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

"I don't see that as a bad thing as it helps broaden out this rally."

Quarterly earnings remain in the spotlight to see if valuations are justified, especially with the S&P 500 trading at around 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months, well above its long-term average of 15 times.
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S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs as oil price rise boosts energy stocks

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 touched record highs in late morning trading on Monday as a rise in oil prices boosted energy stocks and investors shrugged off the impact of a global cyber attack.

Oil hit its highest in more than three weeks after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia said supply cuts needed to last into 2018, a step towards extending the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Counties (Opec)-led deal to support prices for longer than originally agreed.

Shares of oil majors Exxon and Chevron helped boost the S&P energy index, which was on track to close higher for the first time in three sessions.

"The rebound in oil prices and lack of bad news on the geopolitical front has led to a bit of a relief rally in equities," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

"At this level, there isn't too big a correlation between oil and equities but since we've seen oil fall quite a bit in a month or so, today's rally in oil is helping the market grind higher."

At 10:53 am ET (14:53 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 89.46 points, or 0.43 per cent, at 20,986.07. The S&P 500 was up 12.54 points, or 0.52 per cent, at 2,403.44 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 30.37 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 6,151.61.

All the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with the energy and materials index leading the gainers.

Investors seemed to mostly shrug off fears from a successful missile test by North Korea and a cyber attack that disrupted operations at car factories, hospitals, shops and schools.

Shares of cybersecurity firms such as Fireye, Symantec and Palo Alto Networks were all up.

Cisco's 2.5 per cent rise provided the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and S&P.

US stocks slipped on Friday, ending the week lower as tepid economic data weighed on banks and worries deepened over department stores.
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Wall Street go red as tech, consumer discretionary stocks decline

US stocks were slightly lower on Thursday, with the Dow on track for its third straight day of losses, led by declines in consumer discretionary and technology sectors.

Macy's disappointing profit and a 11 per cent slump in shares took a toll on the consumer discretionary sector, which fell 0.52 per cent with all of its components in the red.

Kohl's was down about 2 per cent despite beating profit estimate.

"Retail is front-and-center because it has been a sore area for the market over the last year or two," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at 50 Park Investments.

At 9:41 am EDT the Dow Jones industrial average was down 40.78 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 20,902.33, the S&P 500 was down 7.72 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 2,391.91 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 21.11 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 6,108.04.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower. Technology was down 0.3 per cent, following losses in Microsoft and Intel.

Shares of Snapchat owner Snap Inc plunged 20 per cent after the company reported a slowdown in user growth and revenue in its first earnings report as a public company.

Straight Path fell 20 per cent after agreeing to be bought by Verizon for $184 per share and terminated an earlier deal with AT&T.

Whole Foods was up 5 per cent after the grocer shook up its board and appointed a new CFO.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,836 to 718. On the Nasdaq, 1,662 issues fell and 606 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed six 52-week highs and six lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 28 highs and 16 lows.
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