US stocks sink despite Apple’s jump on iPhone sales

In this photo provided by New York Stock Exchange Euronext, Jason Hardzewicz, a Barclays floor trader, far left, gestures during a tour of the New York Stock Exchange with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, center, and his entourage, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013, in New York. US stocks closed firmly in the red Monday, extending Friday’s losses, amid uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s stimulus taper plans. AP

NEW YORK CITY—US stocks closed firmly in the red Monday, extending Friday’s losses, amid uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s stimulus taper plans.

A big bounce by heavyweight Apple on news of record sales of its new iPhone models was not enough to push the Nasdaq higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49.71 points (0.32 percent) to finish at 15,401.38.

The broad-market S&P 500 index fell 8.07 (0.47 percent) to 1,701.84, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 9.44 (0.25 percent) at 3,765.29.

Comments by New York Fed President William Dudley and two other top Fed officials on Monday created a bit more uncertainty about the future direction of US monetary policy, damping Wall Street sentiment, said Alan Skrainka of Cornerstone Wealth Management.

Apple jumped nearly 5.0 percent to $490.64 after saying it sold more than nine million new versions of its iPhones over the three-day launch weekend, a record. Apple predicted its fourth-quarter profit and revenue would be at the high end of its prior forecast.

Microsoft edged down 0.2 percent after unveiling two new models of its Surface tablet on Monday.

Ailing BlackBerry, meanwhile, added 1.10 percent at $8.82, after diving 17 percent Friday.

The Canadian smartphone maker announced it had agreed to a $4.7 billion buyout by a consortium led by Canadian firm Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited.

It was the first day of trading of the newly configured Dow index of 30 blue-chip stocks, with Goldman Sachs, Nike and Visa replacing Alcoa, Bank of America and Hewlett-Packard.

Dow member General Electric gained 1.1 percent after winning a $2.2 billion contract to provide turbines for six power plants in Algeria.

Boeing, another Dow component, rose 0.8 percent. Budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle called a meeting this week with Boeing to discuss a raft of technical problems with its two 787 Dreamliners.

General Motors rose 0.8 percent after Moody’s upgraded the automaker to investment quality. GM said it would buy back $3.2 billion in shares owned by the UAW union’s trust.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped to 2.71 percent from 2.73 percent Friday, while the 30-year fell to 3.75 from 3.76 percent. Prices and yields move inversely.

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