-Apple off 2% after iPhone 5 sales estimates

Dow Jones Industrial: -0.33%
Nasdaq Comp.: 0.73%
S&P 500: -0.44%

The major US equity benchmarks have opened lower by 0.5% on average.

That on the back of a rather weak news-flow out of the Eurozone over the weekend.

Of interest, some market commentary is today calling attention to the poor performance year-to-date in the Dow Jones Transportation average as a precursor to weakness in financial markets.

This ahead of what traditionally are two very weak months for stocks before seasonal strength kicks in during the run-up to the year´s end.

With somewhat less negative implications perhaps, income at oil and gas producers will fall by 24% in the three months ending in September, the largest decline in three years, according to more than 1,200 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding the retreat, earnings in the benchmark gauge for US stocks would climb 2.5%, the 12th straight increase, amid gains for banks and computer makers, the data shows.

Back on the company front, Apple is down 2% after saying that it sold more than 5 million of its iPhone 5s in 3 days. That number is approximately half of what was expected by some analysts.

Micron Technologies has been downgraded by analysts at Pacific Crest Securities to sector perform.

Red Hat´s chief executive officer is looking to make acquisitions in the "cloud space," the news agency is reporting today.

Crude futures falling on economic doubts



Front month West Texas crude futures are now down by 1.53% to the 91.47 dollar per barrel level on the NYMEX.

10 year US Treasuries are now gaining by 8/32 dollars, with yields at 1.78%.



AB

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