By Anora Mahmudova and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- S&P 500 suffered its steepest
one-day decline in five weeks while the Nasdaq Composite dropped
the most since July 31. Broad-based losses were led by stocks from
the telecom and utilities sectors.
Analysts attributed recent weakness to consolidation after
strong gains from the past five weeks.
Fluctuation in Apple Inc's shares contributed to the choppy
session on Wall Street, as the tech group is the heaviest weighted
stock on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Apple Inc. unveiled iPhone 6,
ApplePay and Apple Watch and shares rose as high as 3.5%, but lost
ground after the event and closed lower.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed 13.1 points, or 0.7%, at 1,988.44.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped 97.55 points, or
0.6%, to 17,013.87. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) shed 40 points, or
0.9%, to 4,552.29.
"The S&P 500 continues to consolidate around the technical
resistance level of 2,000 and it could do so for a while," said
Randy Frederick, managing director of trading & derivatives at
Schwab Center for Financial Research.
"We are also at a juncture where stocks are fairly priced, not
too expensive, but not too cheap either. In the absence of earnings
news or major economic data, it is not unusual to see sideways
moves," he added. Also read: Michael Sincere on why this stock
market will never go down
Stocks on the move: The iPhone maker (AAPL) unveiled the newest
version of its flagship phone and a new Apple Watch wearable
device. Shares rose as much as 3.5%, but closed slightly lower.
Also read: Tim Mullaney on why Apple exemplifies everything that's
wrong about Silicon Valley.
McDonald's (MCD) shares fell 1.5% after the fast-food restaurant
chain said global comparable sales fell 3.7% in August and blamed
"several headwinds" for the decline. The company warned that
problems with a supplier in China will hurt third-quarter results.
Also read: The secret to a long life? Fast food
Shares of Annie's Inc.(BNNY) rose 38%, on the heels of a similar
late-session rally after General Mills Inc. (GIS) offered to buy
the organic-foods company for $820 million in cash.
Shares of Pinnacle Foods Inc.(PF) fell 4.6% after the
packaged-foods company said some shareholders tied primarily to
investment firm Blackstone will sell 15 million common shares.
Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) shares were up 3% after the
bookseller's fiscal second-quarter profit jumped thanks to cost
cuts, masking a bigger-than-expected decline in revenue.. Read
about more of the day's notable stock moves here.
Other markets:The yield on the 10-year Treasurys(10_YEAR) rose 3
basis points to 2.5%, its highest since the beginning of August on
a closing basis. Brent crude oil prices held steady $99 a barrel,
while the dollar charted new highs against the yen (USDJPY) and the
euro (EURUSD). Europe stocks posted mild losses, while Asia markets
saw mostly modest gains.
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