The Nasdaq fell in early morning trade on Thursday, dragged down by Apple. Shares of the tech giant continued to slide after reports that China has banned government officials from using iPhones and plans to extend the ban to state-owned companies. The move puts Apple in front of its biggest overseas market, which is its global production base.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hugged the flat line, and was under pressure along with other major stock measures after all three closed in the red on Wednesday. The S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) fell about 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ) fell 1% while Apple ( AAPL ) fell nearly 4%.
Last week, jobless claims fell to their lowest level since February, another sign the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates on hold for longer. The surprise reading followed Wednesday’s data showing US services activity hit a six-month high in August, seen as a sign of resistance to higher borrowing costs in consumers and the broader economy.
Meanwhile, gains in Treasuries (^TNX) also weighed on tech stocks.
Oil prices ( CL=F ) took a step back on Thursday as Chinese trade data failed to ease worries about a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, casting doubt on the Fed’s efforts to slow inflation. Questions are mounting whether China’s slowdown could pose a “significant risk” to the US economy.
Those reports are feeding into a debate over whether the Fed can be persuaded to stick with higher rates at its September meeting in a few weeks.
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