US stocks have closed firmly in the red, extending Friday’s losses, amid uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s stimulus taper plans.
A big bounce by heavyweight Apple on news of record sales of its new iPhone models was not enough to push the Nasdaq higher on Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49.71 points (0.32 per cent) to finish at 15,401.38.
The broad-market S&P 500 index fell 8.07 (0.47 per cent) to 1,701.84, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 9.44 (0.25 per cent) at 3,765.29.
Comments by New York Fed President William Dudley and two other top Fed officials on Monday created a bit more uncertainty about the future direction of US monetary policy, dampening Wall Street sentiment, said Alan Skrainka of Cornerstone Wealth Management.
Apple jumped nearly 5.0 per cent to $US490.64 ($A526.13) after saying it sold more than nine million new versions of its iPhones over the three-day launch weekend, a record. Apple predicted its fourth-quarter profit and revenue would be at the high end of its prior forecast.
Microsoft edged down 0.2 per cent after unveiling two new models of its Surface tablet on Monday.
Ailing BlackBerry meanwhile added 1.10 per cent at $8.82, after diving 17 per cent Friday. The Canadian smartphone maker announced it had agreed to a $US4.7 billion ($A5.04 billion) buyout by a consortium led by Canadian firm Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.
It was the first day of trading of the newly configured Dow index of 30 blue-chip stocks, with Goldman Sachs, Nike and Visa replacing Alcoa, Bank of America and Hewlett-Packard.
Dow member General Electric gained 1.1 per cent after winning a $US2.2 billion ($A2.36 billion) contract to provide turbines for six power plants in Algeria.
Boeing, another Dow component, rose 0.8 per cent. Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle called a meeting this week with Boeing to discuss a raft of technical problems with its two 787 Dreamliners.
General Motors rose 0.8 per cent after Moody’s upgraded the automaker to investment quality. GM said it would buy back $3.2 billion in shares owned by the UAW union’s trust.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.71 per cent from 2.73 per cent Friday, while the 30-year fell to 3.75 from 3.76 per cent. Prices and yields move inversely.
