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Technology stocks sink in early trading after weak showings from Apple

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 58.76 points, or 0.33%, to 17,860.53.

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In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was down 0.86%, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.5%.

Chris Gaffney, who is the president of EverBank World Markets said that Apple is not just only a big company, there are so many companies that are dependent on Apple for their businesses. However, its latest results don’t necessarily speak to the overall health of the economy or corporate America, said Erik Davidson, chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank.

Apple gave no numbers for its Apple Watch sales, and investors seemed nervous that Apple couldn’t keep its iPhone sales going forever.

Hopes were high for the industry as earnings season began, with technology shares leading a rebound in USA equities after overseas tensions eased.

Shares in other chip makers and technology companies across Europe – such as Germany’s Dialog Semiconductor PLC and Infineon Technologies AG, and Paris-listed STMicroelectronics NV – also slipped near the bottom of the Stoxx Europe 600. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.6 percent to 5,614.60. That loss was primarily due to a $7.5 billion accounting charge Microsoft took in the quarter for its ill-fated purchase of Nokia. Apple, the worlds most valuable company, slid 4.9 percent, wiping nearly $40 billion from its value. The stock rose $12.51 to $178.72.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.(CMG) shares jumped 7.8% despite disappointing quarterly earnings.

Investors have their eye on company earnings and outlooks to get a sense of how the economy is doing. That’s the highest pace in more than eight years and indicates that demand has eclipsed the amount of homes available for sale.

An S&P gauge of homebuilders was on track for its biggest advance in five months, with Ryland Group and Toll Brothers rising more than 3.3 per cent. June new-home sales data are scheduled for release Friday, with economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicting a 0.4 per cent increase from the previous month.

In London, the FTSE 100 dropped 1.5 per cent as the United Kingdom listing of BHP Billiton was hammered, falling 5.7 per cent on yesterday’s production report.

Retrenchment and caution dominated trading in other assets, with the dollar slipping a little further from its recent highs and commodities such as gold and oil resuming their downturn.

Yahoo was down 2.2 percent at $38.85 after it forecast lower-than-expected revenue for the current quarter as it struggles to revive its core online advertising business.

In foreign exchange, the euro firmed to 1.0943 from 1.0942 late in New York on Tuesday, as dealers awaited a second Greek parliamentary vote on its vast reforms-for-cash bailout deal. Instead, crude supplies increased by 2.5 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration’s weekly status report. It fell 3.7 percent after the results from Apple, a major customer, despite posting a 32 percent rise in second-quarter profit. EPS for the same period registers at ($0.03).

The Nikkei ended a six-day rally, finishing 1.2 per cent lower.

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Iron ore dipped a similar amount to $US50.70 a tonne, while spot gold was at $US1,094 an ounce. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by 1.8 basis points to 2.322%.

A currency trader speaks on the phone at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Korea Exchange Bank headquarters in Seoul South Korea Wednesday