US open: market slips as Apple and Twitter rise

US markets opened marginally lower on Wednesday, as investors remained sceptical over the timing of the first interest-rate rise by the Federal Reserve.

US bond yields were on the rise for the fifth consecutive day, up three basis points to 2.53%, a one-month high.

“An absence of particularly noteworthy data and events this week will continue to leave the focus on Fed hike expectations,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, US strategist at TD Securities, in a note to investors.

In other news, the Mortgages Bankers Association (MBA) said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity fell 7.2% in the week ended 5 September.

The MBA’s adjusted index of refinancing applications fell 10.7% in the same week, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a key indicator of home sales, dropped 2.6 percentage points.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates registered a 4.27% average this week, up two basis points week-on-week.

In corporate news, Apple’s highly-awaited product launch of its first wearable smartwatch, two new versions of the iPhone and a contactless payment system, was met by mildly positive reviews and, as a result, Apple shares were up 1.14% to $99.11 at 14:47, while Twitter rose 3.51%.

Land’s End rose 11.52% after posting better than expected second quarter sales and profit and Palo Alto Networks gained 4.25% after posting adjusted earnings of 11 cents a share, in line with fourth quarter expectations.

Having announced it is in talks to acquire the Swedish company behind the popular Minecraft videogame in a deal thought to be worth about $2bn, Microsoft shares remained largely unchanged, while Dollar General lost 0.17% after its $9.1bn to buy Family Dollar Stores was rejected and Ebay was the worst performer early doors, losing 3%.

The dollar retreated from a six-year high against the yen, while the pound was slowly recovering ground after hitting a 10-month low on Tuesday and it traded at $1.61, while oil traded at £92 dollar a barrel, down 0.54%.