Stocks plunged on Thursday, Jan. 3, on the heels of Apple Inc.'s decision to cut its revenue forecast due to weaker than expected iPhone sales, primarily in China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 2.83% to finish at 22,686.22, and the S&P 500 lost 2.48% to close the day at 2,447.89.
Oil and gas companies also gave up gains from the previous day as the S&P 500 Energy Sector retreated 1.10% to settle at 428.07.
Among struggling stocks, Chevron Corp. shed 1.92% to conclude at $108.57; ConocoPhillips was down 1.89% to end at $62.18; and Valero Energy Corp. rolled back 1.80% to close at $74.20, all in below-average trading.
Concho Resources Inc. saw a 0.16% gain on light volume to close at $106.86, after its subsidiary sold three disposal wells with 45,000 barrels per day of permitted capacity and about 44 miles of pipeline in the southern part of the Delaware Basin oil zone to WaterBridge Resources LLC.
Electric and diversified utilities generally performed better than the rest of the market, though the S&P 500 Utilities Sector eked out a 0.08% increase to close at 264.07. MDU Resources Group Inc. picked up 1.66% to $23.95 on double average trading volume; Southern Co. rose 1.42% on brisk volume to settle at $44.34; and PG&E Corp. added 0.63% in light trading to close at $23.95.
Avista Corp. declined 1.94% in strong trading to end at $41.97, while Hydro One Ltd. edged 0.65% higher in about average trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange to finish at C$20.22, after Idaho regulators denied the companies' proposed merger. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission concluded that state law expressly prohibits the transaction and no amount of negotiation or generous offers can change that fact.
TransAlta Corp. picked up 3.00% in light trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange to end at C$5.83. The company has secured approval from Alberta regulators to convert two large coal-fired power plants to operate on natural gas.
American Electric Power Co. Inc.'s stock price dropped 0.23% in active trading to end at $72.77, after Mizuho Securities USA LLC downgraded the company's stock to "neutral" from "buy" and lowered its price target to $70 from $76. The firm said it "does not believe that AEP merits a premium valuation."
Shares of PNM Resources Inc. was down 0.42% on thin volume to settle at $40.07. The company expects to record a pretax impairment of approximately $33 million as of Dec. 31, 2018, associated with plans to retire its utility subsidiary Public Service Co. of New Mexico's share of the San Juan coal plant.
Among solar stocks Sunrun Inc. tumbled 10.93% on strong volume to $9.78, and Tesla Inc. slumped 3.15% in below-average trading to $300.36, while Canadian Solar Inc. spiked 4.85% on brisk volume to $15.14.
Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.