UnitedHealth and Apple drag the Dow lower
S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite edge higher
S&P/TSX closes little changed
Zuckerberg abandons plans to introduce non-voting Facebook shares
It was a mixed end to the week for US stocks, with the Dow Jones out of step with the other major benchmarks.
The Dow Jones average, which closed at a new high on Wednesday, pulled back further from its peak on Friday, falling 10 to 22,350.
The index was weighed down by consumer electricals king Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which far from receiving a boost from the usual media hoopla over the release of new products in the iPhone range, actually lost ground on the day the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8+ started shipping.
The heavily-weighted index constituent also constrained gains on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which closed at 6,427, up 4.
The S&P 500 closed 1.6 higher at 2,502, while across the border in Canada the S&P/TSX was just over half a point lower at 15,454.
In corporate news, Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) has abandoned a new class of non-voting shares that would allow investors to buy Facebook shares without founder Mark Zuckerberg running the risk of losing control of the company.
Zuckerberg said the rise in the company's share price would allow him to retain control even after selling shares to fund his philanthropic causes.
Zuckerberg filed to sell at least US$6bn of Facebook stock. The social media giant's capitalization currently stands at US$495bn.
The move amounts to a climb-down by Zuckerberg after legal acton was taken to prevent the move.
Mid-session
Stocks headed south in the morning session, with UnitedHealth Group Inc and Apple Inc leading the Dow lower.
The 30-share industrial average was down 41 at 22,319 while the broader-based S&P 500 was down 1.7 at 2,499.
Quad/Graphics Inc (NYSE:QUAD) defied the trend, rising 15% to US$22.80. The ,marketing services provider said it would participate in the digital marketing conference, Shop.org, next week.
Open
US stocks opened slightly lower, perturbed at the latest developments in the slanging match between the leaders of North Korea and the US, before regaining par.
North Korea has threatened to test a hydrogen bomb of “unprecedented scale”, just a day after President Trump ordered that sanctions against North Korea be expanded.
The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 were little changed after half an hour or so of trading, wiping out earlier losses.
Among the small caps, Aradigm Corporation (NASDAQ:ARDM) shot up 37% to US$2.68 as it revealed it is to present at the Ladenburg Thalmann 2017 Healthcare Conference next week.
Pre-market
The ability of Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) to mesmerize the media and the stock market must be waning.
The shares were off 0.4% in pre-market trading despite two new phones from the iPhone range going on sale today.
The usual genuflection and unthinking obeisance towards Apple has been less in evidence, possibly because the models going on sale are not the top of the range iPhone X, but the cheaper – but not cheap – iPhone 8 and iPhone 8+.
The models may not be as sexy as the iPhone X but still contain some interesting features such as wireless charging.
The technology has been known about since 1891, when it was demonstrated by Tesla (Nikola, not the electric car company) and has long been featured in other smartphones.
Apple shares were down 72 cents at US$152.67 in screen-based trading ahead of the bell.
READ Apple shares weak again, on track for worst post-product launch performance since 2013
Talking of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), its shares were also off the pace in pre-market trading.
The company is to discontinue its cheapest model, the rear-wheel drive 75 on Sunday.
Tesla shares eased 0.2% to US$365.76.
Sportswear seller Finish Line inc (NASDAQ:FINL) looked set to get off to a slow start when the market opens after it revealed like-for-like sales were down 4.5% from a year earlier in the second quarter.
The shares back-pedaled 8.8% to US$8.41.
Opening call: Spread betting quotes indicate the S&P 500 would open at around 2,497, down4 points, and the Dow Jones would kick-off at around 22,333, down 27 points.
After hours: Facebook phlegmatic; Texas stars; AIG off the hook
There was not much reaction after-hours to Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) deciding to hand over to Congress details of some 3,000 ads believed to be from Russian profiles.
Congress is investigating whether the Russian government tried to influence the outcome of the 2016 US presidential campaign.
READ Facebook to Turn Over Russian-Linked Ads to Congress
Facebook shares edged 51 cents lower to US$170.60 in after-hours trading, though that might have been in reaction to news that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive officer of Facebook, had sold almost a quarter of a million shares at an average price of US$171.75 a share.
Elsewhere in the technology sector semiconductor Texas Instruments Incorporated (NASDAQ:TXN) was wanted after it hiked its quarterly dividend from 50 cents to 62 cents.
On top of that, the company increased its share repurchase program by US$6bn.
The shares rose 1.1% to US$86.05.
READ Texas Instruments shares boosted by divi hike and share buybacks
American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG), the insurance group that was among the main boneheads that precipitated the financial meltdown in the previous decade, may be about to have some slack cut it by the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
The regulators are reportedly set to discuss whether AIG, which has been under stricter oversight than its peers since its management acted so irresponsibly/cluelessly (delete as appropriate) in the run-up to the credit crunch, no longer poses a threat to the economy.
Last month it was reported that remuneration for top executives at AIG had returned to pre-bailout levels.
In 2008, AIG paid is chief executive a nominal salary of a dollar; in 2017, the boss – Brian Duperreault – is due to get a basic US$17mln, having already trousered US$12mln in lieu of shares he would have received had he not jumped ship from his old company, Hamilton Insurance.