Damn! US Stock Market Falls Again With Apple Falling Nearly 4%

<p>&nbsp;Wall Street stocks fell at the open on Thursday, with signs that US economic data gave investors reason to believe that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for a longer period.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained unchanged, but other major stock indexes fell after all three stock indexes closed in the red on Wednesday. The S&amp;P 500 fell about 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1.5% as Apple shares fell nearly 4%.</p><p><br /></p><p>Shares were under pressure after data unexpectedly showed US services activity hit a six-month high in August, seen as a sign of resilience among consumers and in the wider economy despite higher borrowing costs. Meanwhile, rising bond yields have weighed on tech stocks, but were slightly lower on Thursday.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Apple shares continued to fall after reports that China has banned government officials from using iPhones and plans to extend the ban to state-owned companies. The move is a setback for Apple in its largest overseas market, which is also its global production base.</p><p><br /></p><p>Rising oil prices that called into question the Fed's efforts to stabilize inflation took a step back on Thursday after Chinese trade data failed to ease concerns about a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy. There are doubts about whether China's economic slowdown could be a "major risk" to the US economy.</p><p><br /></p><p>With less encouraging data from Europe, the data highlighted concerns about weakening global demand.</p><p><br /></p><p>In this context, the update of US initial job claims on Thursday could contribute to the discussion about whether the Fed will tend that it needs to keep rates high at its meeting in September in a few weeks. Jobless claims unexpectedly fell to their lowest level since February.</p>