US equities closed mixed Monday, with two of the three benchmark indexes slipping into negative territory as Apple Inc’s near four percent drop amid concern about iPhone sales offset a rally in Dell Inc.
Apple, the most valuable company, sank 3.6 percent that wiped out $17 billion in investor wealth after the Wall Street Journal and Japan’s Nikkei reported the smartphone maker had cut iPhone production on weak demand.
Shares of Dell surged 13 percent, the most since October 2008, after Bloomberg news reported the Texas-based PC-maker is in buyout talks with private-equity firms while Hewlett-Packard jumped 4.9 percent after market researcher Gartner Inc said the company reclaimed the top PC-maker ranking from Lenovo Group Ltd. JP Morgan upgraded the stock to neutral from underweight.
President Barack Obama urged the Republican lawmakers not to use the debt ceiling as leverage in negotiations on spending-cuts while addressing a news conference in Washington. The opposition has already hinted at government default or shutdown as a means to force cuts in government spending.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed 19 points and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) trimmed 1 point with telecommunications sliding the most and consumer staples faring the best among its ten industry groups.
Treasury prices rose for the second day as political gridlock over raising the nation’s debt ceiling increased the allure of safer assets.
Meanwhile, European stocks closed lower after latest data showed industrial output in the 17-member eurozone declined 0.3 percent in November and shares of TNT Express NV plunged after United Parcel Service Inc abandoned its takeover bid of the company citing European anti-trust laws.
Trend wise, the changes were small as the Domestic Trend Tracking Index (TTI) moved to +2.65% while the International TTI now stands at +10.20%.
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