Market dips on no debt deal
Apple’s higher earnings, other good news can’t extend rally
NEW YORK – A rally over hopes for a debt-limit deal turned into a waiting game for investors.
One day after the Dow Jones industrial average had its best day this year, the stock market edged lower on Wednesday. Analysts say concerns about lifting the U.S. debt limit outweighed strong earnings from Apple and a slew of new corporate deals.
“In this environment, stringing together a few days like yesterday is going to be tough,” said Brad Sorensen, director of market analysis at Charles Schwab.
Apparent progress on raising the U.S. debt limit launched a stock market rally Tuesday. The Dow jumped 202 points, its best day this year. But investors woke up Wednesday to find Washington still at a stalemate. And with less than two weeks before the government risks defaulting on its debt, they are finding it hard to continue the celebration.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.51 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 12,571.91.
The S&P 500 index dropped 0.89 point to 1,325.84. The Nasdaq fell 12.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 2,814.23.
Apple Inc. rose 2.7 percent after the company’s income doubled last quarter. Sales of Apple’s iPhones quadrupled in Asia.
News of record earnings and new deals would usually brighten investors’ mood, Sorensen said. In the current earnings season, for instance, some 75 percent of companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index have beaten analysts’ estimates. But larger worries about debt troubles in the U.S. and Europe are holding the market back. “It’s causing investors and businesses and consumers to be concerned about the future,” he said.
European Union officials plan to meet at an emergency summit today in Brussels. Many expect E.U. members to drum up a new aid package for Greece.
E-Trade Financial Corp. gained 13.7 percent, more than any other stock in the S&P 500 index. E-Trade’s largest shareholder urged the online discount brokerage to consider putting itself up for sale. In a letter to E-Trade disclosed in a regulatory filing, the money manager Citadel LLC called for changes to the company’s board, saying E-Trade’s “phenomenal franchise” had been “squandered.”