Apple shares steady premarket, Fed rate path in focus - what's moving markets

investing.com:

Investing.com — Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares hug the flatline in premarket trading on Friday following a two-day skid sparked by reports that China is telling government officials not to use the California company's iPhone device for work. Elsewhere, two more Federal Reserve policymakers hint that the central bank may skip hiking interest rates at its September gathering, while U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen suggests that China's post-COVID economic woes may not have a «significant impact» on the United States.

1. Nasdaq futures inch down after Apple-driven decline

U.S. stock futures pointed lower on Friday, as investors gauged a sharp drop in Apple's stock this week and weighed the possibility of more Federal Reserve rate hikes this year.

At 05:53 ET (09:53 GMT), the Dow futures contract lost 61 points or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures fell by 10 points or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures shed 45 points or 0.3%.

The main indices on Wall Street were mixed at the close of trading on Thursday, with the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average edging up 0.2% and the benchmark S&P 500 dipping by 0.3%.

Attention widely centered around a Wall Street Journal report that central government officials in China had been ordered not to use Apple's iPhone and other foreign-branded mobile devices for work, which traders took as a potential sign that Beijing may be willing to sideline American tech companies in favor of their Chinese counterparts. A separate report from the Financial Times said that state employees across China have also been told to cease using iPhones.

Shares in Apple, which relies on China for almost a fifth of its total revenue and is set to unveil the latest model of its mega-popular iPhone next week, slumped to a second