Apple Foldable iPhone Buzz Cushions S&P 500 Amid Chip Selloff
A surprise Apple rally tied to foldable iPhone reports offset chip-sector losses, leaving major indexes split on direction after a weak jobs report.
A surge in Apple shares Thursday helped prevent a broader market rout, as investors weighed a disappointing jobs report against fresh excitement over the tech giant's anticipated foldable iPhone, according to Yahoo Finance. The conflicting signals left major U.S. indexes struggling to find a unified direction, a rare tug-of-war that underscored just how much a single mega-cap stock can move the needle on benchmark indices.
The semiconductor sector bore the brunt of the day's selling pressure, with chip stocks declining sharply enough to drag on the broader market. Yet Apple's rally — fueled by optimism around its foldable device — was powerful enough to counteract those losses for the S&P 500, illustrating the outsized weight that the Cupertino company carries within the index.
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The weak jobs data added another layer of complexity for traders already navigating a volatile macro environment. Labor market softness typically raises recession concerns, but it can simultaneously stoke bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts — a dynamic that kept bulls and bears locked in a standoff throughout the session.
The episode highlights a recurring theme in 2024 and into 2025: product-driven narrative cycles around Apple have repeatedly proven capable of moving markets in ways that macroeconomic data alone cannot easily counteract. When a single company's rumor cycle can rescue an index from a chip-led decline, it signals just how concentrated market influence has become among a handful of technology titans.
Continue reading at Yahoo for the full breakdown of Thursday's market action and index-level performance data.
