Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as the market closes in New York, U.S., October 3, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
NEW YORK: The S&P 500 index and the Dow fell in choppy trading on Tuesday, but Apple helped the Nasdaq stay in positive territory.
The markets lost momentum after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its growth forecast for the US economy to 1.6% from 2.2% this year.
Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes were down, with the rate-sensitive telecom services and utilities taking the biggest hit.
Apple rose nearly 1% to US$113.61 and was the top influence on the three major indexes. The iPhone maker extended the global reach of Apple Pay by launching the software in Russia.
“The IMF has a pretty good track record of being able to forecast global growth and certainly when there is a downgrade, the market tends to see a selloff,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.
The financials sector rose 0.08%, led by gains in Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan.
Richmond Federal Reserve president Jeffrey Lacker said he would have dissented at the last rate-setting meeting if he had been able to vote, arguing that interest rates need to rise.
Traders have priced in a mere 10% chance of a hike at the Fed’s November meeting, which comes days before the Nov 8 US presidential election. The odds of a December hike stand at 62%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
“The market is in a position where it is sensitive to news. So it is going to be a back-and-forth day driven by various news stories that come out,” Frederick said.
At 11:23am ET the Dow Jones industrial average was down 28.25 points, or 0.15%, at 18,225.6.
The S&P 500 was down 4.03 points, or 0.19%, at 2,157.17.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.75 points, or 0.03%, at 5,302.62.
Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt-listed stock was up 2.3% after major clients and rivals extended support to the bank, which is negotiating with US authorities over a multi-billion dollar penalty. Its US-listed stock was up 1.7%.
Darden shares rose 4.6% to US$64.15 in premarket trading after the restaurant chain operator reported a rise in first-quarter sales.
Netflix rose 1.1% to US$103.81 amid speculation that the company could be a takeover target.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,716 to 1,131. On the Nasdaq, 1,333 issues rose and 1,316 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed 13 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 68 new highs and 18 new lows. - Reuters
