NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are barely lower Wednesday morning as banks and technology companies give back some of their gains from earlier in the week. Apple continues to take small losses as investors contemplate its new lineup of iPhones and other products. Energy companies and retailers are trading higher.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dipped 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 2,495. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 8 points to 22,110. The Nasdaq composite lost 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,449. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks edged up 1 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,425.
The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq all closed at record highs Tuesday.
ON SALE? Department store chain Nordstrom climbed after CNBC reported that the Nordstrom family is close to a deal to take the company private. The stock has risen over the last three months following talk that descendants of co-founder John Nordstrom might buy the 70 percent of the company they don’t already own. Several of the company’s top executives are Nordstrom family members. The stock gained $2.69, or 6 percent, to $47.74.
IF THEY CAN MAKE IT THERE: Medicaid coverage provider Centene said it will expand into New York through a $3.75 billion acquisition of Fidelis Care. Its stock jumped $6.02, or 6.6 percent, to $96.90. Centene focuses most of its business on the state and federal Medicaid programs, but it has also expanded into several states over the past year through the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges.
JILTED: Hard drive maker Western Digital slumped $4.63, or 5.2 percent, to $84.15 after its partner Toshiba said it will sell its computer memory business to a consortium led by Bain Capital Private Equity. Western Digital wants to buy that business and has filed a lawsuit to stop it from selling that business to anyone else. Toshiba has said it needs to sell the division to help counteract losses by its Westinghouse Electric nuclear business, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March.
APPLE: Apple fell $1.81, or 1.1 percent, to $159.06. Investors appeared worried about the high price tag of the tenth-anniversary iPhone X as well as its later sales date. The phone won’t be available until early November, which could affect Apple’s revenue in the next few quarters. The iPhone 8 will come out Sept. 22. Investors appeared to be pleased with some of Apple’s plans Tuesday, including new features that are being added to the Apple Watch, but the company’s stock took a small loss a day ago.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 57 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $48.80 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 36 cents to $54.63 a barrel in London.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 110.31 yen from 110.11 yen. The euro fell to $1.1939 from $1.1970.
BONDS: Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note — percent from 2.17 percent.
OVERSEAS: London’s FTSE 100 index declined 0.5 percent and France’s CAC 40 was off just under 0.1 percent. The German DAX lost just under 0.1 percent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.3 percent and the Kospi in South Korea shed 0.2 percent.
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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/marley%20jays
