Stocks Opened Mostly Lower as Apple Shares Stumbled

U.S. stocks opened mostly lower on Tuesday, with technology stocks coming under pressure as shares of Apple Inc. declined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately gained 2.05 points, or 0.01%, to 24,756.11. The S&P 500 was down 2.66 points, or 0.10%, to 2,680.68. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 39.23 points, or 0.56%, to 6,920.73.

Oil traded above $65 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by an explosion on a crude pipeline in Libya and voluntary OPEC-led supply cuts. Brent crude rose 10 cents to $65.35 a barrel at 1346 GMT. U.S. crude added 12 cents at $58.59.

The iPhone maker’s stock fell following a report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily, citing unidentified sources, that Apple will slash its sales forecast for the iPhone X by 40 percent in the quarter to 30 million units.

Fueled by high consumer confidence and a robust job market, U.S. retail sales in the holiday period rose at their best pace since 2011. Sales, excluding automobiles, rose 4.9% from Nov. 1 through Christmas Eve, compared with a 3.7% gain in the same period last year, according to the Mastercard Inc.

U.S. home prices climbed a robust 6.2 percent from a year ago, amid strong demand from would-be buyers and a shrinking supply of properties for sale. Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index stood in October a solid 6 percent above its previous 2006 peak.