Stocks End Lower as China Weighs
U.S. Market
Stocks were lower today as worries about Chinese growth weighed on the market.
Chinese Finance Minster Lou Jiwei said today that China is not currently planning any large stimulus measures despite some signs of a slowing economy. Some investors had hoped that a slowdown in industrial output data would lead to more aggressive government action.
Existing home sales fell 1.8% in August from July levels to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million. Sales were down 5.3% year-over-years. Economists had expected an annual sales rate of 5.2 million in the month.
At market close the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.6%, 0.8% and 1.1% respectively.
Stocks on the Move
Apple (AAPL) announced that it sold 10 million iPhones in its opening weekend. The sales figure is an all-time record, compared with 9 million sold a year ago. The jump is even more impressive as it does not include any sales into China, while an early iPhone launch into the region was part of the mix last year. Perhaps the most important comment from Apple is that the iPhone broke sell-through records--that is, sales directly to customers rather than to retailers and carriers--“by a large margin.” Shares were up 0.1% at market close.
