Stock Market Today: Dow closes lower as Apple slump, fresh inflation fears bite
Investing.com — The Dow closed lower Wednesday as fresh inflation jitters renewed concerns about higher for longer interest rates, while a plunge in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) also dented sentiment on stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, 197 points, Nasdaq slumped 1.1%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.7%
U.S. services activity rose more than expected in August to 54.5 from 52.7, while the prices paid index component of the survey, a gauge of inflation, increased to 58.9 from 56.8, as strong demand for labor continued to underpin wage growth.
“We still believe that much of the pressure that fuels inflation is rooted in sticky-high unit labor costs in the service sector,” Jefferies said in a note.
Fresh signs of the inflationary pressures, pushed the odds of a November hike to nearly 50% from 38% a day earlier, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell more than 3%, leading the selloff in tech as reports that China, a key market for the company, ordered employees at government agencies not to use foreign devices including Apple’s iPhones.
The move by China — which has been ramping up efforts to curb the dependence on foreign technology amid national security concerns — comes just a week ahead of the arrival of Apple’s new iPhone set to be unveiled on Sept. 12.
Roku Inc (NASDAQ:ROKU) upgraded its third-quarter guidance after detailing further cost cutting plans including cutting about 10% of its workforce and consolidating office space. its stock closed up nearly 3%.
The streaming media device company raised its third-quarter revenue guidance by as much as 7% to a range of $835 million to $875 million, from $815 million previously.
Payments company Block Inc (NYSE:SQ) fell nearly 1% after
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