NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, after U.S. tech giant Apple lowered its quarterly revenue forecast, exacerbating market jitters over possible global economic slowdown.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 327.41 points, or 1.4 percent, to 23,176.39. The S&P 500 fell 23.86 points, or 0.95 percent, to 2,491.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 88.12 points, or 1.32 percent, to 6,584.77.

Apple revised lower its forecast of revenue in the first quarter in fiscal 2019, which ended on Dec. 29, CEO Tim Cook announced in a letter to investors on Wednesday night, which was the first forecast slash in more than 15 years.

Cook attributed most of the company's guidance on revenue shortfall to declining sales across iPhone, Mac and iPad, shrinking retail stores and channel partners in China.

Shares of Apple plummeted more than 10 percent after the opening bell of the U.S. stock markets, weighing down the embattled Dow Jones Industrial Average by more than 300 points and on course to its biggest single-day loss in six years.

The revenue forecast move has also pushed for uplifts in the U.S. dollar, which posed headwinds for U.S. companies around the world.

On the economic front, investors are digesting downbeat data relating to U.S. economy, fueling nervousness over ebbing economic activities in the new year.

The ISM manufacturing index dipped to 54.1 in December, its lowest level since November 2016, which was weaker than market expectations and down from 59.3 in November, according to a latest report.

The index, issued by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), is widely considered as an indicator for the expansion pace of economic activity in the manufacturing sector. The U.S.-based ISM is the world's largest not-for-profit supply management association.

"Comments from the panel reflect continued expanding business strength, but at much lower levels. Demand softened, with the New Orders Index retreating to recent low levels," said Timothy Fiore, chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee, in the report.

U.S. labor market remains teetering to maintain its strength with both rising weekly jobless claims and private payrolls.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits reached 231,000 with a seasonally adjusted increase of 10,000 for the week ending Dec. 29, said the Labor Department on Thursday.

Offsetting the worrying impact, private payrolls rose by 271,000 jobs in December, higher than the November increase of 157,000, according to the ADP National Employment Report on Thursday. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)