Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures drifted lower on Thursday evening after losses in heavyweight technology stocks, particularly Apple, dragged Wall Street lower.
Investors were now awaiting the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, amid heightened speculation over his plans to impose trade tariffs on major economies, particularly China.
Focus also remained on the earnings season, after a string of positive bank earnings this week. A slew of major tech, industrials and consumer stocks are set to report earnings next week.
Wall Street saw short-lived relief from soft inflation data released this week, as other prints showed consumer spending remained strong, as did the labor market. This kept fears of slower interest rate cuts in play.
S&P 500 Futures fell slightly to 5,972.25 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 0.1% to 21,229.25 points by 18:26 ET (23:26 GMT). Dow Jones Futures fell 0.1% to 43,449.0 points.
Apple slides on losing smartphone sales lead in China
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the biggest weight on Wall Street on Thursday, losing 4% after data showed the company lost its spot as the biggest smartphone seller in China to local rivals Vivo and Huawei.
The stock steadied in aftermarket trade after tumbling to a near two-month low.
Apple’s smartphone shipments in China slid 17% in 2024, data from research firm Canalys showed, highlighting just how much market share the iPhone maker has lost to tougher competition from Chinese manufacturers.
A lack of artificial intelligence features on Apple’s devices in China has also weighed on sales, given that most of its rivals have their own AI offerings.
Broader tech stocks also retreated amid reports that the U.S. was considering even tighter restrictions on chip exports from the country, which could chew into sales of major chipmakers such as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) and TSMC (NYSE:TSM).
The sector took limited support from stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings from TSMC, as it continued to benefit from outsized artificial intelligence demand. The stock surged nearly 4% on Thursday.
Wall St digests rate outlook, Trump policies
Wall Street indexes fell on Thursday, but were still set to gain in their first full trading week of 2025, after soft inflation data released earlier spurred some bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further this year.
But retail sales and jobless claims data dented this notion on Thursday, with strength in consumer spending and the labor market giving the Fed more headroom to cut rates slowly.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 5,937.33 points, while the NASDAQ Composite slid 0.9% to 19.338.29 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 43,153.13 points.
Focus was also on Trump’s policies, given that the President-elect has vowed to enact sweeping changes, particularly increased trade tariffs, from “day one” of his second term.