Weekly news summary for November 2 to 8

Friday, Nov 2: Apple Drops 5% after Fiscal Q1 Guidance Miss

Shares of Apple Inc. dropped 5% in pre-market trade on Friday after the tech firm’s fiscal first quarter guidance failed to meet analysts’ expectations.

The iPhone maker forecasts revenue of $89 billion to $93 billion in fiscal first quarter, with the midpoint shy of consensus estimates of $92.9 billion.

Monday, Nov 5: US Stock Futures Fall ahead of Midterm Elections

US stock futures started the trading on a negative note as investors remained cautious ahead of the US congressional midterm election on Tuesday.

Both the blue-chip Dow futures and the S&P 500 lost about 0.2%, while tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell around 0.1 percent.

Tuesday, Nov 6: Crude Slips Near Lowest Levels Ahead of API Data

Crude prices stumbled near their lowest level in nearly 7 months ahead of the release of the American Petroleum Institute’s weekly report on US commercial crude supplies.

US West Texas Intermediate crude futures declined $62.87 per barrel, after hitting its lowest since April of $62.52 on Monday, while Brent crude futures dropped $72.83 per barrel, falling near Friday’s two-and-a-half-month low of $72.16.

Wednesday, Nov 7: Dollar, US Yields Down on Split Congress Result

The US dollar and bond yields weakened on Wednesday as the split Congress result in the midterm elections further reinforced uncertainty for any major US fiscal policy boost to the economy.

The US dollar index was down $95.52, its lowest since October 22, while the benchmark 10-year yield fell to 3.18% and the 2-year yield dropped to 2.92%.

Thursday, Nov 8: Tencent Cuts Marketing Budget for Gaming Division

Tencent Holdings reportedly plans to reduce marketing budget for its Tencent Games division, amid an ongoing Chinese crackdown on the videogame industry and a long-drawn-out freeze on new game approvals.

An executive with Tencent Games said marketing funds have been chopped back, although it was not immediately known by how much the budget has been cut.