Wall Street lower as Apple slips to 6-month low

By Tanya Agrawal

REUTERS - Wall Street fell on Tuesday as Apple's shares remained under pressure, hitting their lowest in more than six months, and investors digested earnings reports from a host of companies.

The iPhone maker's shares fell as much as 4.4 percent to $113.25, slipping firmly below their 200-day daily moving average, a key technical level closely watched by traders. The stock was also the biggest drag on the three major U.S. indexes.

While there was no clear trigger for the selloff, traders said worries over a slowdown in China and skepticism over demand for iPhone 6s were likely to keep the stock under pressure.

Netflix, on the other hand, was on a tear. Its stock surged as much as 9.1 percent to a record high of $122.79, valuing the company well above $50 billion.

Earnings reports on Tuesday were a mixed bag. With a bulk of the S&P 500 companies having reported results, investors are taking to the sidelines ahead of Friday's monthly jobs data.

The report is seen critical for the market as it is expected to provide clues on the timing of a rate hike. The U.S. economy is expected to have created 223,000 new jobs in July, on par with June, according to economists polled by Reuters.

"Given the importance of such a big number, investors are taking a wait-and-see approach," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank in Chicago.

Wall Street ended lower on Monday as tumbling oil prices dragged energy shares to a three-year low and factory data from China raised concerns about the world's second-biggest economy.

In the United States, consumer spending recorded its smallest gain in four months, while the pace of growth in the manufacturing sector slowed in July.

Soft data has prompted some investors to argue that the U.S. Federal Reserve might hold off on raising rates until December. After the Fed meeting last week, investors expected a rate increase in September.

"The market is getting such a mixed bag of rhetoric from the Fed, it seems like the Fed isn't sure what it's going to do," Ablin said.

The Fed, which has kept interest rates near zero for nearly a decade, has said it will raise rates only when it sees a sustained recovery in the economy.

At 12:44 p.m. ET (1644 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 36.72 points, or 0.21 percent, at 17,561.48, the S&P 500 was down 3.36 points, or 0.16 percent, at 2,094.68 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 11.44 points, or 0.22 percent, at 5,103.94.

Six of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher, with the materials index's 0.76 percent rise leading the advancers. The energy index reversed course to trade down.

Among other companies scheduled to release results on Tuesday are Dow component Walt Disney, Devon Energy and Genworth Financial.

Baxalta shares jumped 17 percent to $38.73 after Shire said it was seeking to buy the company in a $30 billion all-share deal. U.S.-listed shares of Shire fell 7.7 percent to $247.46.

American International Group fell 5.2 percent to $60.84 after the insurer's underwriting income fell in almost all of its units, while home and auto insurer Allstate fell 10.4 percent to $62.13 after its profit missed expectations.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,658 to 1,296. On the Nasdaq, 1,498 issues rose and 1,193 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 31 new 52-week highs and 16 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 83 new highs and 89 new lows.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)