* Apple falls nearly 4 pct, weighs on Nasdaq
* ‘Fiscal cliff’ uncertainty gives some a reason to sell
* Consumer prices drop in Nov; manufacturing picks up in Dec
* Dow off 0.3 pct, S&P; 500 off 0.4 pct, Nasdaq down 0.7 pct
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Dec 14 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks fell on Friday as
another slide in Apple took a toll and investors unloaded some
shares because of the uncertainty surrounding the “fiscal cliff”
negotiations.
For the Nasdaq, this marked the second losing week in a row.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended the week slightly
lower.
Apple’s stock slid 3.8 percent to $509.79 – its
lowest close since Feb. 17 – after UBS cut its price target on
the stock to $700 from $780. The stock of the most valuable U.S.
company has been hit hard in the last three months. On Friday,
Apple’s stock fell after a tepid reception for the iPhone 5 in
China.
The S&P; Information Technology Index lost 1 percent
as Apple fell and Jabil Circuit Inc shed 5.5 percent to
$17.51 after UBS cut its price target.
The possibility of a fiscal cliff deal not taking place
until early 2013 is rising. The back-and-forth negotiations over
the fiscal cliff in Washington have kept markets on hold in what
would already be a quiet period for stocks.
“We’re faced with uncertainty … and that’s going to
continue now into January. It basically puts everybody on hold
and (you) just have the markets kind of thrash around,” said
Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at Cabrera Capital Markets
Inc in Boston.
President Barack Obama and U.S. House of Representatives
Speaker John Boehner held a “frank” meeting on Thursday at the
White House to discuss how to avoid the tax hikes and spending
cuts set to kick in early in 2013.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 35.71
points, or 0.27 percent, to 13,135.01 at the close. The Standard
& Poor’s 500 Index fell 5.87 points, or 0.41 percent, to
1,413.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 20.83 points,
or 0.70 percent, to close at 2,971.33.
For the week, the Dow slipped 0.2 percent, while the S&P; 500
fell 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq declined 0.2 percent.
Among other Nasdaq decliners, shares of chipmaker Qualcomm
slid 4.7 percent to $59.83. A semiconductor index
dropped 0.7 percent.
American Express Co shares fell 1.9 percent to
$56.65 and ranked as the heaviest weight on the Dow.
Investors are concerned that going over the cliff could tip
the economy back into recession. While a deal is expected to
ultimately be reached, a drawn-out debate – like the one over
2011’s debt ceiling – can erode confidence.
Best Buy Co Inc slid 14.7 percent to $12.05 after
the electronics retailer agreed to extend the deadline for the
company’s founder to make a bid. Shares jumped as much as 19
percent on Thursday after initial reports of a bid this week
from founder Richard Schulze.
Among the day’s economic data, consumer prices fell in
November for the first time in six months, indicating U.S.
inflation pressures were muted. A separate report showed
manufacturing grew at its swiftest pace in eight months in
December.
Data out of China was encouraging, as Chinese manufacturing
grew at its fastest pace in 14 months in December. The news was
deemed as helpful for U.S. materials companies, including U.S.
Steel, which rose 6.8 percent to $23.85.
An S&P; material sector index rose 0.9 percent.
Volume was roughly 5.8 billion shares traded on the New York
Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the
year-to-date average daily closing volume of 6.52 billion.
Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a ratio of
about 8 to 7. On the Nasdaq, decliners barely held an edge over
advancers, with 1,241 stocks falling and 1,196 shares rising.
