Live Markets: The Apple today didn't keep the sellers away: Stocks dip, oil jumps
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THE APPLE TODAY DIDN'T KEEP THE SELLERS AWAY: STOCKS DIP, OIL JUMPS
Wall Street extended what is now a three-day selloff on Wednesday, as the United States and Iran engaged in the biggest wave of mutual attacks since the war began, sending Brent crude LCOc1 above $100 per barrel for the first time since July.
While all three major stock indexes ended lower, the small-cap Russell 2000 .RUT suffered a steeper drop than its larger-cap counterparts, dropping 1.3% on the day.
The jump in crude prices propped up energy shares .SPNY, which were the sole gainers among the S&P 500's 11 major sectors. Industrials .SPLRCI and consumer discretionary stocks .SPLRCD were the biggest percentage losers.
Apple AAPL.O unveiled the newest addition to its family of shiny toys, the foldable Duo smartphone. It marked the company's first gadget reveal party since John Ternus replaced Tim Cook as CEO, and the event also included updates to its iPhone and iPod. It was the biggest change to Apple's smartphone line in years. Apple shares were sharply lower ahead of the event, but pared most of those losses afterward. The stock ended the session down 0.3%.
Front-month WTI CLc1 and Brent crude futures both settled up 3.3% and 3.4%, respectively, reviving inflation fears ahead of the Labor Department's one-two punch of its PPI report on Thursday and its CPI data on Friday.
Analysts expect a year-on-year headline PPI reading of 5.3%, with CPI posting an annual increase of 3.4%. Any hotter-than-expected data is likely to move the needle regarding the likelihood of a rate hike at the conclusion of the Fed's policy meeting next week.
The probability of a 25-basis-point increase to the Fed funds target rate currently sits at 60.2%, according to CME's FedWatch tool, although a Reuters poll of economists shows most of them expect Warsh & Co to let rates stand next week.
Here's your closing snapshot:
(Stephen Culp)
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