Apple closes above $700; FedEx weighs on stocks

Updated: 2 a.m. ET, Wednesday

Apple (AAPL) shares topped $702 and closed above $700 Tuesday for the first time as iPhone fever grew ahead of the first sales on Friday. Google (GOOG) shares hit a new 52-week high. Homebuilders are the most optimistic they've been in more than six years.

But that wasn't good enough for the stock market, which ended basically flat on the day. Weighing on the market were package shipper FedEx (FDX)'s warning about a slowing global economy and weak stocks in Europe as dismay grew that Spain doesn't want to apply for a bailout. Spain is considering the issue carefully in large part because any assistance would require submitting to severe austerity requirements.

Futures trading suggests stocks will open solidly higher on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan decided to ease monetary policy with up to 80 trillion yen (or $1 trillion) in asset purchases and extend the program until the end of 2013. It is similar to the Federal Reserve's stimulus plan announced last week.

Wednesday brings earnings from General Mills (GIS), office furniture makers Steelcase (SCS) and Herman Miller (MLHR) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY). The latter was off $2.38 to $69.39 after an analyst downgrade. The Commerce Department will report on August building permits and housing starts; the National Association of Realtors will report on existing-home sales. 

The Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) closed up 12 points to 13,565. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) dropped 2 points to 1,459, and the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) was off 1 point to 3,178. The Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX), dominated by Apple, finished up 1 point to 2,857.

Article continues below.There were reports that many overseas investors were less confident about conditions in Europe and Asia and were parking cash in U.S. Treasury securities. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.812% from 1.838% on Monday.

After the close, Microsoft (MSFT), the publisher of MSN Money, raised its dividend 3 cents or 15% to 23 cents a share. It's payable Dec. 13 to shareholders of record on Nov. 15.

Apple shares hit a new intraday high of $702
Apple, of course, is commanding lots of attention as it readies iPhone 5 devices for shipment this week. The company received about 2 million orders for the device on Friday.

Shares hit a record $702.33 before closing at $701.91 on Tuesday, up $2.13, a new closing high. The shares were off slightly after hours.

Google is up about 23% this quarter as earnings are improving and consumer acceptance of mobile devices using its Android operating system grows, especially outside the United States.

Shares hit $718.71, a new 52-week high and the highest level since late 2007. But they fell back slightly to $718.28, up $8.30. Google's all-time high is $741.79, set on Nov. 6, 2007.

Energy prices -- New York close
			Tues.			Mon.			Month chg.			YTD chg.
Crude oil (-CL)			$95.29			$96.62			-1.22%			-3.58%
(per barrel)
Heating oil (-HO)			$3.1271			$3.1634			-1.67%			7.31%
(per gallon)
Natural gas (-NG)			$2.7730			$2.8650			-0.93%			-7.23%
(per mil. BTU)
Unleaded gasoline (-RB)			$2.8990			$2.9433			-2.48%			9.09%
(per gallon)
Brent crude			$111.65			$113.79			-2.55%			3.98%
(per barrel)
Retail gasoline			$3.8590			$3.8620			0.78%			17.80%
(per gallon; AAA)

Crude falls for second day
Thanks to the second day in a row of lower oil prices, energy stocks were the market's weakest sector. But gold (-GC) settled higher. A Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst projected gold could hit $2,400 an ounce.

Crude oil (-CL)  in New York settled down $1.33 to $95.29 a barrel. Brent crude was off $1.76 to $112.03 a barrel.

The national average price for regular gasoline fell to $3.859, down from Monday's $3.862, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. It's the fourth straight day of declines.

Gold settled up 60 cents to $1,771.20 an ounce. One reason may have been the research note of Francisco Blanch of Bank of America Merrill Lynch who sees the Federal Reserve's stimulus moves as pushing gold prices up to $2,400 by the end of 2014.

Crude's decline was enough to push energy shares lower. Exxon Mobil (XOM) fell 26 cents to $91.65. Chevron (CVX) dropped 17 cents to $116.97. Baker Hughes (BHI) fell $1.20 to $48.90.

Silver (-SI) was up 35.1 cents to $34.718 an ounce. Copper (-HG) slipped a half-cent  cents to $3.787 a pound.

FedEx struggles with weak global economy
But the global economy is still weak, and that's FedEx's problem. In a way, it's everyone's problem because FedEx is widely watched as an early indicator of global economic trends.

Shares were off $2.73 to $86.55 and are off more than 4.5% this quarter.

Customers are saving money by using regular FedEx services as opposed to premium options. Some customers were shipping goods on ships to save money.

The company beat Street estimates on fiscal-first-quarter​ earnings, reporting $459 million or $1.45 a share. It had projected $1.43 a share. Revenue was up 2.6% to $10.79 billion; analysts had expected $10.7 billion.

"Exports and trade have gone down at a faster rate than global trade has," said Chief Executive Fred Smith on a post-earnings call.

He said new product launches from Apple and Microsoft (MSFT) wouldn't be enough to counter broader weakness in manufacturing, especially as more shipments are carried by cheaper ocean options. He said, though, FedEx is gaining market share in air cargo. (Microsoft publishes MSN Money.)

Two weeks ago, FedEx cut its earnings expectations for the quarter, citing a sharp slowdown in global manufacturing activity. The company has been cutting costs, and it reiterated that it will detail it efforts during an Oct. 10 investor meeting.

Rival United Parcel Service (UPS) was off 72 cents to $73.51.

Homebuilders are more optimistic
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index hit 40, the highest level since June 2006 and the fifth straight monthly gain.

It was also better than expected. That said, the report, released Tuesday, does not mean all is well for builders. For actual overall optimism, the index must top 50.

Nonetheless, it is far cry from 2009 when the index fell into single digits. Moreover, the index suggests conditions will be better in six months.

There was some skepticism about the report. Homebuilding shares, among the best-performing sectors this year, were lower Tuesday. PulteGroup (PHM) was off 37 cents to $15.76. Toll Bros. (TOL) fell 54 cents to $35.19. MDC Holdings (MDC) was off 55 cents to $37.70.

Fourteen of the 30 Dow stocks were higher, led by Kraft Foods (KFT) and Caterpillar (CAT).
Alcoa and American Express (AXP) were the laggards.

Meanwhile, 175 S&P 500 stocks were higher, led by F5 Networks (FFIV) and Apollo Group (APOL).  Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and oil-and-gas-producer​ WPX Energy (WPX) were the laggards. AMD fell after CFO Thomas Seifert resigned after three years on the job.

And 39 Nasdaq-100 stocks were higher, led by F5 Networks and Apollo Group. Bed Bath & Beyond and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) were the laggards.

Short hits from the markets -- New York close
			Tues.			Mon.			Month chg.			YTD chg.
Treasury yields
13-week Treasury bill			0.1000%			0.100%			11.11%			900.00%
5-year Treasury note			0.699%			0.717%			17.28%			-15.78%
10-year Treasury note			1.812%			1.838%			16.01%			-3.15%
30-year Treasury bond			3.032%			3.032%			12.97%			4.95%
Currencies
U.S. Dollar Index			79.346			79.115			-2.30%			-1.46%
British pound			1.6252			1.6255			2.29%			4.60%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. $ in pounds			£0.615			£0.615			-2.24%			-4.40%
Euro in dollars			$1.30			$1.31			3.56%			0.68%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. $ in euros			€ 0.767			€ 0.762			-3.44%			-0.67%
U.S. $ in yen			78.85			78.73			0.45%			2.27%
U.S. $ in Chinese			6.31			6.31			-0.77%			-0.17%
yuan
Canada dollar			$1.026			$1.026			1.18%			4.60%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. dollar			$0.974			$0.974			-1.24%			-4.47%
(in Canadian $)
Commodities
Gold (-GC)			$1,771.20			$1,770.60			4.95%			13.05%
(per troy ounce)
Copper (-HG)			$3.787			$3.792			9.55%			10.22%
(per pound)
Silver (-SI)			$34.718			$34.3670			10.42%			24.37%
(per troy ounce)
Wheat (-ZW)			$8.6350			$8.7800			-2.92%			32.29%
(per bushel)
Corn (-ZC)			$7.4000			$7.480			-7.47%			14.46%
(per bushel)
Cotton			$0.7602			0.7533			-1.60%			-17.08%
(per pound)
Coffee			$1.7750			1.7565			7.74%			-22.71%
(per pound)
Crude oil (-CL)			$95.29			$96.62			-1.22%			-3.58%
(per barrel)