We are definitely on track for a slow week with everyone home for the holidays.  Tech once again pulled lower mainly due to tepid iPhone X demand but the sector is still up 40 percent for the year.  Energy was up again led by OPEC supply cuts and retail is on track for its best holiday period since 2011.  But all the pluses and minuses were just barely able to move the market with the Dow down less than 8 points and volume very low at 4 billion. 

tue  DECEMBER 26, 2017 / 5:37 pM

Wall Street slips on tech sector weakness

Chuck Mikolajczak

DJ: 24,746.21  -7.85         NAS:  6,936.25  -23.71         S&P:   2,680.50  -2.84        12/26

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks declined on Tuesday as Apple and shares of its parts suppliers weakened on a report of soft iPhone X demand, which pulled technology shares lower.  According to Taiwan’s Economic Daily, citing unidentified sources, Apple (AAPL.O) will slash its sales forecast for its flagship phone in the current quarter to 30 million units, down from what it said was an initial plan of 50 million units. 

The report, along with some recent brokerage calls on tepid iPhone X demand, made Apple shares sink 2.5 percent, their worst single-day percentage fall since Aug. 10.  “There is news in Apple today so it is causing some kind of angst in certainly Apple, maybe some Apple suppliers and maybe some tech in general,” said Ken Polcari, Director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.  “The whole Apple thing is giving people an excuse to take some money out of tech because it has been such a great performer.”

Shares of companies that supply parts to Apple, including Broadcom (AVGO.O), Skyworks Solutions (SWKS.O), Finisar (FNSR.O) and Lumentum Holdings (LITE.O), all fell. The PHLX semiconductor index .SOX lost 0.97 percent.  The S&P technology index .SPLRCT fell 0.70 percent, the worst performer among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors. The index has come under pressure in recent days and suffered its fifth straight decline as market participants see tech names getting a smaller boost from last week’s U.S. tax overhaul.

Despite the declines, the tech sector is still up nearly 40 percent for the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 7.85 points, or 0.03 percent, to 24,746.21, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 2.84 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,680.5 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXICdropped 23.71 points, or 0.34 percent, to 6,936.25.  Most markets around the world, including parts of Europe and Asia, were shut on Tuesday. Trading volumes were light due to the holiday-shortened week. 

Losses were curbed by a boost in energy stocks as oil prices jumped more than 2 percent, helped by an explosion on a crude pipeline in Libya and voluntary OPEC-led supply cuts.

Chevron (CVX.N) rose 0.8 percent and EOG Resources (EOG.N) gained 2.1 percent to lead the S&P energy sector .SPNY 0.82 percent higher.  Shares of department store operators Kohl’s (KSS.N), JC Penney (JCP.N) and Macy’s (M.N) got a boost after a report that retail sales in the holiday period rose at their strongest pace since 2011. The S&P retail index .SPXRT advanced 0.63 percent.  Sucampo Pharma (SCMP.O) surged 5.9 percent after Mallinckrodt (MNK.N) said it would acquire the drugmaker for $1.2 billion. Mallinckrodt shares rose 0.7 percent. 

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.30-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.14-to-1 ratio favored decliners.  The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 88 new highs and 26 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 4.03 billion shares, the lowest volume of the year for a full session, compared to the 6.9 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.