The dive was fueled by a sharp downturn in shares of Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), which fell for the second consecutive day. Shares were down 3.8%, falling below $100 per share. Concerns about software glitches in its iOS platform and structural problems in the iPhone 6 Plus are heavily weighing on the stock. The stock was the largest drag on both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 Index today.
Here's the scorecard from today's trading session:
Two key data sets painted a less rosy picture of the U.S. economy than we saw earlier this week. First, thanks to a sharp decline in aircraft orders, durable goods orders plummeted by 18.2% in August. Meanwhile, applications for unemployment benefits increased by 12,000 last week to reach 293,000.
From Russia with Love: In response to increased pressures from U.S. and European sanctions against its economy, the Russian government could provide their courts with the right to seize foreign assets on its territory. The new law could present a problem for a number of U.S. companies with significant interest in the region. Russia says it is seeking to protect its interests against the sanctions and are likely attempting to get Western companies ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), BP Plc. (NYSE ADR: BP), and McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) to lobby their governments. The sanctions continue to take a toll on the Russian economy. This afternoon, the Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX) slipped by 2.5%.
Back to Life: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that he will resign before the mid-term elections. Holder is the fourth longest-serving Attorney General in U.S. history, and his Department of Justice has been very involved in a number of high-profile settlements with banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) over their roles in the recent financial crisis. The resignation is a sign that the White House may be concerned that Republicans could take back the Senate in this fall's midterm elections. The U.S. Senate will likely approve President Barack Obama's next appointment during the lame-duck session.
Hiring Up: Despite seeing its shares drop by nearly 2% as tech stocks slump, videogame retailer GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME) announced plans to hire nearly 25,000 employees in preparation for the 2014 holiday season. The company said it is preparing for a launch of a large marketing push for new games for Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq: MSFT) Xbox One, Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s (OTCMKTS ADR: NTDOY) Wii, and Sony Corp.'s (NYSE ADR: SNE) PlayStation 4.
MLP Investing: Shares of CONE Midstream Partners LP (Nasdaq: CNNX) jumped 38% after its debut on the public markets. The master limited partnership was formed by CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CNX) and Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL). The partnership is engaged in the acquisition of midstream assets in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Shares of both CONSOL and Noble were down more than 1.5% on the day. In other IPO news, shares of Travelport Worldwide Ltd. (Nasdaq: TVPT) were up more than 5% intraday on its first day of trading.
IPO of the Year: Shares of Alibaba Holding Group Ltd. (NYSE: BABA) were down more than 1.5% on the day. Alibaba stock has now declined in three of its first five days of trading.
Now our experts share some of the most important investment moves to make based on today's market trading - for Money Morning Members only:
A Post-Petrodollar Play for Triple-Digit Gains: It is now clear that both Russia and China are making concerted efforts to move off the petrodollar system. The result of this trend will roil the currency markets, and we can expect these seismic shifts to affect the U.S. dollar - and the stock market. The changes open up profit opportunities, too, and Peter Krauth has found the perfect stock to benefit from the petrodollar's demise.....
(Other) Investors Will Hate You for Using This Investment Strategy: Even with interest rates so low and the economy steadily improving, many nervous investors - worried about a correction - are selling off. Whenever this sort of negative noise is in the air, it is not a time to sell; it's a profit opportunity for tech investors. That's why Defense & Tech Specialist Michael A. Robinson is sharing three strategies designed to turn market declines to your financial advantage. With them, you'll leave the nervous sellers in the dust...
252 Million Years Ago, This Nearly Wiped Out All Life... Tomorrow, It Could Solve Our Energy Problems: According to an April study issued in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, permafrost soil, which typically remains frozen all year, is thawing and decomposing at an accelerating rate. But after a shocking discovery, it seems something locked in the soil could become the fuel of the future... and you could profit big off the new revolution.
Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.