Apple drags down Wall Street at open

Apple shares fell 2.1 per cent on Wall Street, on Sept 8, 2016. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Apple weighed on the three major United States stock indexes on Thursday morning, a day after the tech giant unveiled the new iPhone 7 that failed to impress Wall Street.

Shares of Apple fell 2.1 per cent, their steepest decline since June 24 when the markets witnessed a broad selloff after the result of the Brexit vote.

The S&P 500 information technology index fell 0.51 per cent and was the biggest loser among the benchmark's 10 major sectors.

Investor reaction to an unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims and the European Central Bank's decision was largely muted.

US stocks have been trading in a tight range in recent months, even as they hover near record levels, due to growing uncertainty over interest rates.

The S&P 500 index has not moved more than 1 per cent in either direction on a daily basis since July 8.

At 9:33 a.m. ET (9:33 p.m Singapore time) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 54.17 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 18,471.97. The S&P 500 was down 4.85 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 2,181.31. The Nasdaq Composite was down 17.50 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 5,266.42.

Oil prices rose more than 1.5 per cent after US industry data showed a large drawdown in crude stocks, reflecting the temporary impact of an Atlantic storm. The S&P energy index was the only gainer on Thursday.

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