Apple’s decline overshadowed the banks’ positive earnings

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S&P 500 snaps three-day winning streak
the US market fell on Thursdaywith S&P 500 breaks his three-day winning streak. Treasury yields pulled further on the weakening fears of inflation. Pan-European Stoxx 600 index added 0.98%. Richemont jumped 16% after announcing that it was better than expected 10% increase in sales in the fiscal third quarterpushing other stocks in the luxury sector.

The apple is falling
Apple shares fell 4% on Thursday, with losses almost at 12% from the stock’s last peak in December. The weakening comes after a report by market research firm Canalys released on Thursday said the iPhone maker would fall to third place in terms of smartphone sales in China in 2024, behind domestic makers Vivo and Huawei.

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

Weak economic growth in Great Britain
The The British economy grew by 0.1% in Novemberdata from the Office for National Statistics showed on Thursday. The rise was less than the 0.2% month-on-month gain expected in a Reuters poll. The disappointing gross domestic product figure is fueling 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 muted inflation reports, the stock market appears poised for further growth in 2025, according to UBS. The bank expects the S&P 500 to reach 6,600 by December, implying an 11% increase from current levels. Solita Marcelli, Chief Investment Officer for the Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, explains UBS’s optimistic view.

Reports of declining iPhone sales in China dragged down Apple shares, leading to their worst day since August 5. Other “7 Magnificent” stocks also fell in sympathy: Tesla retreated 3.4%, Nvidia lost almost 2%, and Alphabet fell by about 1.4 percent.

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

With all the shares of the “7 magnificent” — which they drove more than half of the S&P 500’s gains in 2024 — ending the session in the red, the broad index was unable to sustain the forward momentum from Wednesday.

The S&P slipped 0.21%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.16% and tech Nasdaq Compositee fell 0.89%.

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

Bank of America and Morgan Stanley reported expectations-beating earnings. But they ultimately weren’t enough to lift the index, suggesting that stock market performance is still dependent on technology.

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

Still, tech stocks and markets could rally if inflation appears to be under control later in the year.

US Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller he told CNBC in an interview Thursday that if the inflation data is benign, he “can certainly see rate cuts happening before maybe the market dictates that.”

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

If that were to happen, Apple shares — as well as other rate-sensitive tech stocks — could defy gravity and soar again.

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