Sept 7 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell on Thursday, with the biggest drag from Apple and a sell-off in chip stocks over concerns about China’s iPhone curbs, while a fall in weekly U.S. jobless claims fed worries about interest rates and sticky inflation.
Shares in S&P heavyweight Apple Inc (AAPL.O) fell 2.9%, for its second straight day of losses on news that China had widened curbs on iPhone use by state employees, requiring staff at some central government agencies to stop using their mobiles at work.
Bloomberg reported that China planned to broaden the iPhone ban to state firms and agencies.
The drag from Apple, its suppliers and companies with large China exposure pushed the S&P 500 technology sector (.SPLRCT) down 1.6%, making it the biggest percentage decliner among the benchmark’s 11 major sectors.
A U.S. Labor Department report showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment claims fell to 216,000 for the week ended Sept. 2, hitting the lowest level since February. But investors worried this would help push the Federal Reserve to continue with tight monetary policy, pressuring stocks.
“The weekly claims was big news this morning, good news being construed as bad news and it’s hard to ignore the news out of China” about Apple said Sahak Manuelian, managing director…
