Stocks fell on Friday as another decline in Apple took a toll and investors unloaded some shares because of the uncertainty surrounding the budget negotiations in Washington.
All three major stock indexes ended the week slightly lower, the Nasdaq for the second consecutive week.
Apple’s stock slid 3.76 percent, to $509.79, after the iPhone 5 received a tepid reception in China.
UBS maintained its buy rating on Apple, but cut its price target to $700 from $780 and expressed concerns that iPhone production may be dropping.
Shares of Apple have fallen 27.4 percent since their closing high of $702.10 on Sept. 19.
The S. P. Information Technology Index lost 1 percent as Apple fell and Jabil Circuit fell 5.5 percent, to $17.51, after UBS cut its price target.
Stocks have been treading water as the possibility of not reaching a deal to settle the budget impasse until early next year is rising.
“We’re faced with uncertainty,” said Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at Cabrera Capital Markets in Boston. “And that’s going to continue now into January. It basically puts everybody on hold and just have the markets kind of thrash around.”
President Obama and the House speaker, John A. Boehner, held a “frank” meeting on Thursday at the White House to discuss how to avoid the tax increases and spending cuts set to kick in early in 2013.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 35.71 points, or 0.27 percent, to 13,135.01. The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index fell 5.87 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,413.58. The Nasdaq composite index lost 20.83 points, or 0.70 percent, to 2,971.33.
For the week, the Dow slipped 0.15 percent, while the S. P. 500 fell 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq declined 0.2 percent.
Among other Nasdaq decliners, shares of the chip maker Qualcomm slid 4.7 percent, to $59.83.
Best Buy slid 14.7 percent, to $12.05, after the electronics retailer agreed to extend the deadline for the company’s founder to make a bid.
Among the day’s economic data, consumer prices fell in November for the first time in six months, indicating inflation pressures were muted.
A separate report showed manufacturing grew at its swiftest rate in eight months in December.
Chinese data was encouraging, as Chinese manufacturing grew at its fastest rate in 14 months in December. The news was deemed as helpful for materials companies in the United States, including United States Steel, which rose 6.8 percent, to $23.85.
Interest rates were lower. The Treasury’s benchmark 10-year note rose 8/32, to 99 9/32, and the yield fell to 1.70 percent from 1.73 percent late Thursday.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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