September 8, 2023

Stocks Tumble as Apple Takes a Hit, Dollar Surges on Positive U.S. Data

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Stock Indexes Fall as Apple Shares Weigh on S&P 500 and Nasdaq

Published on September 7, 2021

Introduction

Global stock indexes experienced a decline on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling due to the impact of Apple shares. Additionally, the U.S. dollar strengthened after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobless claims data was released.

Unexpected Drop in Jobless Claims

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly to 216,000 in the week ended Sept. 2.
This was a decrease from the revised 229,000 claims reported the previous week.
The latest numbers were the lowest since February.

U.S. Worker Productivity Not as Strong as Initially Announced

A separate report revealed that U.S. worker productivity in the second quarter was not as strong as initially announced.

Resilient U.S. Economy and Interest Rates

Recent data has indicated that the U.S. economy remains resilient, leading to speculation that U.S. interest rates may need to stay higher for a longer period of time.

China’s Economic Challenges

China’s onshore yuan has slid to a 16-year low against the dollar due to a property slump, weak consumer spending, and shrinking credit growth in the country.

China trade data released on Thursday showed a nearly 9% slide in exports and a more than 7% drop in imports.

Japanese Yen Struggles Against Dollar

In Japan, traders are closely monitoring the Japanese yen’s performance against a resilient dollar.

The dollar hit a fresh high of 147.875 yen, its highest since November.
However, it was last down 0.4% at 147.20.

Apple Shares Impact Stock Indexes

Shares of Apple (AAPL.O) experienced a 2.9% decline after reports revealed that China has widened existing curbs on the use of iPhones by state employees.

Stock Index Performance

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.54 points, or 0.17%, to 34,500.73.

The S&P 500 lost 14.34 points, or 0.32%, to 4,451.14.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 123.64 points, or 0.89%, to 13,748.83.

European and Global Stock Performance

European stocks ended down for a seventh straight session, while the MSCI global index was down for a third day in a row.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended down 0.1%.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.35%.

U.S. Treasury Yields Ease

U.S. Treasury yields decreased following the release of the U.S. economic data.

The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.25%.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President’s Comments

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams stated that it’s an “open question” whether monetary policy is restrictive enough to bring the economy back into balance.