Apple’s fall overshadows positive bank earnings

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

The S&P 500 snaps a three-day winning streak
the American markets it fell on thursdaywith the S&P 500 snapping his three-day winning streak. Treasury yields he retreated further on inflation fears. The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index added 0.98%. Richemont jumped 16% after reporting better than expected 10% increase in fiscal third quarter salespushing up other stocks in the luxury sector.

Apple falls
Apple The stock slumped 4% on Thursday, with losses almost 12% from the stock market’s most recent peak in December. The slide comes after a report on Thursday by market research firm Canalys said the iPhone maker had fallen to third place in terms of smartphones sold in China in 2024, behind home-grown manufacturers Vivo and Huawei.

Potential US Treasury Secretary testifies
Scott Bessent, US President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Treasury Secretary, testimony Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee. During the session, Bessent, a hedge fund manager, outlined Trump’s proposed policies it will not cause inflationdescribed US spending as “out of control,” and threw cold water on the idea of ​​a possible US digital currency.

Poor economic growth in the UK
U The UK economy grew 0.1% in Novemberdata from the Office of National Statistics showed Thursday. Growth was lower than the 0.2% month-on-month expansion expected in a Reuters poll. The disappointing gross domestic product figure fueled expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates at its next meeting on February 6.

[PRO] S&P should hit 6,600, says UBS
With two quietly coming inflation reports, the stock market looks poised to grow further in 2025, according to UBS. The bank expects the S&P 500 to reach 6,600 by December, implying 11% upside from its current level. Solita Marcelli, Chief Investment Officer for the Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, explains the optimistic view of UBS.

Reports of falling iPhone sales in China dragged down Apple shares, leading to their worst day since August 5. Other “Magnificent 7” actions also fell in love: Tesla withdrawal 3.4%, Nvidia lost almost 2%, and Alphabet down around 1.4%.

Apple has been the worst performing stock in the Magnificent Seven so far in 2025.

With all the actions of “Magnificent 7” – which lead more than half of the S&P 500’s earnings in 2024 – Ending the session in the red, the broad index could not sustain its forward momentum from Wednesday.

U S&P slipped 0.21%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.16% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Compositeand fell 0.89%.

That’s despite earnings season getting off to a strong start. Of the companies that reported, 77% exceeded expectations, according to FactSet data.

Bank of America and Morgan Stanley reported expectations-beaten gain. But in the end they were not enough to raise the index, suggesting that the performance of the stock market still depends on technology.

“Earnings have started with banks that are definitely positive, but it looks like there will have to be more than that, and that’s what today’s action looks like,” said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments.

That said, stocks and tech markets could get a leg up if inflation appears to be under control later in the year.

US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller he told CNBC in an interview on Thursday that if the inflation data comes in benign, “you could certainly see the rate cuts happening sooner than maybe the markets are pricing in.”

More optimistically, Waller also suggested there could be “four cuts, three cuts, depending on what the data tells you this year.”

If that were to happen, Apple shares — like other tax-sensitive tech stocks — could defy gravity to unravel again.

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Hakyung Kim and Sarah Min contributed to this report.