Apple takes shine off stocks
rally
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[September 13, 2017]
By Patrick Graham
LONDON (Reuters) - Disappointment over the
timing of Apple’s iPhone X release hampered further gains for world
stock markets on Wednesday after an easing of concerns about North Korea
sent indices to record highs.
While a broadly weaker yen pushed Tokyo higher, MSCI's main indicator of
Asian shares outside Japan fell back from a 10-year peak and Europe's
main markets were flat.
Apple suppliers including AMS and Dialog fell by 1-3 percent in
morning trade in Europe, with traders citing the later than expected
Nov. 3 shipping date for the new iPhone. British semi-conductor firm IQE
Plc sank more than 6 percent.
Apple shares, which finished with a small loss on Tuesday, fell another
0.4 percent in pre-market trade. Wall Street overall was seen opening
slightly lower.
"It would appear that a running start to the week and fresh record highs
in the S&P 500 has proven a little much for some traders, with profit
taking seen ahead of Wednesday’s open," said Craig Erlam, an analyst
with online broker Oanda.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Sep/13/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.1 percent as weakness in chipmakers
was compounded by a drop in miners.
Chipmakers have been the best-performing among Europe's tech stocks this
year, accounting for a large chunk of the sector's outperformance. AMS
shares have gained 165 percent year-to-date.
"The economics of the Apple announcement are interesting because it will
really test this theory that inflation is going to be weak," said Mike
Bell, global markets strategist with JP Morgan Asset Management in
London.
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![](../images/091317pics/busine47.jpg)
Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller,
introduces the iPhone x during a launch event in Cupertino,
California, U.S. September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Sep/13/images/ads/current/graue_17_-malibu_090517.png)
"With the iPhone coming in around $1,000 it will be interesting to see how
healthy demand is. If it's relatively healthy I think it shows that there is
still quite a lot of pricing power for U.S. companies and consumers have
confidence."
In currency markets the dominant trend this week has been a recovery for the
dollar and sterling. The dollar hit a 12-day high above 110 yen <JPY=> in Asian
time before easing back as traders awaited U.S. inflation numbers on Thursday.
Britain's pound hit a one-year high above $1.33 and a six-week high on a
trade-weighted basis before falling back after weak wage data that may undermine
any threat the Bank of England might make about raising interest rates.
"Now it's 'Wait and see' for U.S. dollar investors," said Esther Reichelt, a
strategist with Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "Everyone's waiting for the inflation
data tomorrow and the Fed next week."
After a soft start, oil prices were around half a percent higher after the
International Energy Agency (IEA) said the global oil surplus was starting to
shrink due to robust global demand and an output drop from OPEC and other
producers.
(Additional reporting by Jemima Kelly, Sujata Rao and Helen Reid in London;
Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Hugh Lawson)
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