Stocks Opened Lower; Apple Earnings Disappointed

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, a day after Apple Inc. reported disappointing revenue and gave a sales forecast that was below expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 25.44 points, or 0.12%, to 20,924.45. The S&P 500 lost 3.91 points, or 0.16%, to 2,387.26. The Nasdaq Composite slid 19.50 points, or 0.32%, to 6,075.86.

Apple (AAPL) reported fiscal second-quarter earnings with lower-than-expected revenue and iPhone unit sales. It reported net income of $11 billion, or $2.10 a share, compared with $10.5 billion, or $2.02 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue for the period increased to $52.9 billion from $50.5 billion a year ago. iPhone unit sales reached 50.8 million, down slightly from 51 million last year.

Oil prices pushed higher Wednesday, as an industry-group reading showed a sizable decline for last week in U.S. oil and gasoline stockpiles. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June rose 32 cents, or 0.7%, to $47.98 a barrel. July Brent crude climbed 37 cents, or 0.7%, to $50.83 a barrel.

Private-sector hiring slowed in April to the slowest pace in four months, according to data released Wednesday. Employers expanded their workforce by a seasonally adjusted 177,000 jobs last month — the fewest since December, ADP said.