Stocks Closed Marginally Lower, Apple Slipped

U.S. stocks closed marginally lower on Monday as a drop in Apple partly offset gains in energy and financial stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.25 points, or 0.10%, to 21,184. The S&P 500 slid 2.97 points, or 0.12%, to 2,436.10. The Nasdaq Composite was down 10.11 points, or 0.16%, to 6,295.68.

Stormclouds gathered around Apple Inc. on Monday after a rare analyst downgrade that came with a warning that investors have been pricing in all of the upside from the company’s next iPhone while ignoring the risks.

Oil prices finished lower Monday as Saudi Arabia and three other countries cut ties with Qatar, raising uncertainty about Middle East oil production. July West Texas Intermediate crude fell 26 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $47.40 a barrel. August Brent crude slipped 48 cents, or 1%, to $49.47 a barrel.

U.S. services sector activity slowed in May as new orders tumbled, but a jump in employment to a near two-year high pointed to sustained labor market strength despite a deceleration in job growth last month. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its non-manufacturing activity index fell six-tenths of a percentage point to a reading of 56.9.

New orders for U.S.-made goods fell in April for the first time in five months and orders for capital equipment were not as weak as previously reported, suggesting the manufacturing sector remained on a moderate growth path. Factory goods orders dropped 0.2 percent, the Commerce Department said on Monday.