US stocks regain footing after China-sparked crash

New York: US stocks stabilized Tuesday after Monday`s China-sparked crash, but tech giant Apple tumbled 2.5 percent following a report that it will slash iPhone output due to weak sales. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 9.72 (0.06 percent) to 17,158.66, while the broad-based S&P 500 rose 4.05 (0.20 percent) to 2,016.71.
But, on the back of Apple`s sharp loss, the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 11.66 points (0.24 percent) to 4,891.43.

US stocks on Monday had joined in a global retreat from equities following a 7 percent plummet in Chinese stocks and tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the Saudi execution of a prominent Iran-backed Shiite cleric.
On Tuesday, Chinese markets were steadier after the People`s Bank of China pumped 130 billion yuan ($20 billion) into the money market. News reports also said state-controlled funds bought stocks.

Investors are trying to ascertain China and the Saudi-Iran rift "should be something that we should worry about for much of this year, or whether it was simply an opening day flash in the pan," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at S&P Capital IQ. 

"It`s still unresolved."
Shares of Apple, the largest listed company by market value, sank after Nikkei Asian Review reported that it plans to reduce production of its latest iPhone 6s models by around 30 percent due to weak sales.

Twitter lost 2.8 percent following a report that it is considering messages as long as 10,000 characters, much above the current 140-character limit. Many Twitter users sharply criticized the possible change.

Eli Lilly rose 1.5 percent as it projected 2016 earnings of $3.45-$3.55 per share, below the $3.65 expected by analysts. Credit Suisse said that in spite of the lower forecast, it still sees strong opportunities at the drugmaker.
Ford fell 1.8 percent after December sales came in about 4,000 short of the Edmunds.com forecast of 243,590. General Motors dropped 2.6 percent even as its December sales of 290,230 bested Edmunds expectations by about 3,000. The results cap a strong year for US auto sales.

Gunmaker Smith & Wesson surged 11.1 percent after projecting earnings for the quarter ending January 31 of 39-41 cents per share, much above the company`s December 8 forecast of 27-29 cents.