The Impact of Apple’s Latest Innovation: A Market Response

Wall Street experienced a decline on Thursday stemming from concerns that an overheating economy will lead the Federal Reserve to maintain higher interest rates for a longer duration.

• The S&P 500 dropped 14.34 points, or 0.3%, to 4,451.14.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 57.54 points, or 0.2%, to 34,500.73.
• The Nasdaq composite fell 123.64 points, or 0.9%, to 13,748.83.

Stocks faced pressure due to increased bond yields earlier in the week. A report indicated stronger growth in US service industries last month than initially projected by economists, resulting in higher yields. Yields remained elevated after Thursday’s report revealed that fewer US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, which exceeded expectations. Technology companies continued to experience the most significant declines due to concerns about higher rates. Apple, as the most valuable stock, fell 3.2% following a 3.6% drop the previous day. Nvidia also sank 2.6% and has lost 5.5% for the week so far. Stocks in the artificial intelligence industry, including Nvidia, have seen substantial growth this year due to expectations of explosive future profits resulting from AI advancements.

C3.ai experienced a plummet of 12.6% after announcing on Wednesday that it no longer anticipates profitability in its final fiscal quarter. The company plans to invest more in generative AI opportunities. Analysts also noted disappointing profit margin levels for C3.ai during the previous quarter, which marked the start of its fiscal year. While most stocks on Wall Street declined, a few managed to minimize losses. WestRock, a manufacturer of containerboard and packaging, rose by 4% after Smurfit Kappa Group confirmed discussions about combining the two companies while keeping headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. (Read more stock market stories.)