Markets play it safe

U.S. stocks traded marginally lower on Wednesday, retreating from all-time highs set during the previous session as investors searched for catalysts that could breathe new life into the rally. The S&P 500 was off by 4 points, or 0.1%, to 2,492 whilst the Dow Jones Industrial Average was dipping in and out of negative territory and recently traded a touch lower at 22,116.

European markets also pulled back with losses in shares of suppliers to Apple contributing to the downward move. Among suppliers, STMicroelectronics moved down 1.4%, Dialog Semiconductor PLC fell 0.9%, and AMS AG shed 3.8%. The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.3% to 380.37. Vivendi SA however gained 1.9% after UBS raised its rating on the French media company to buy from neutral.

Apple’s latest products

The world tuned in to Apple’s Keynote presentation on Tuesday 12th September as the tech giant unveiled its latest line of products and set itself to in position to address increasing competition from Samsung and other rivals. The most anticipated products were the latest generations of iPhones, being the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus and possibly the company’s biggest leap forward yet – the iPhone X.

Apple’s most expensive iPhone yet, iPhone X – referred to as ‘ten’, boasts many innovative new features some of which are industry firsts, most notably of which is the facial recognition system used to recognise its owner and unlock the device rather than a fingerprint-based one as seen in previous models. It also mark’s Apple’s entry in the ultra-luxury phone segment with the highest priced iPhone in the company’s history, taking the franchise into a whole new level. Prices will start at $999 in the United States.

EasyJet opens to third-party carriers

UK budget airline EasyJet is to let customers use its website to book long-haul flights with other carriers saying it will be the first global airline connections service by a European low-fares carrier. The company is teaming up with Norwegian and WestJet to offer flights to North and South America, as well as Singapore, from Gatwick.

Around 200,000 passengers a year connect from one EasyJet flight to another at Gatwick, but they have previously needed to book each flight separately. The Worldwide scheme will see the airport's Gatwick Connects service, which has been running since 2015, integrated into EasyJet's website. The destinations which can now be booked on EasyJet's website include New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, Toronto and Singapore.