Daily Data Flow: Apple Distracts from S&P; Jobs Numbers Improving; Yen Slumps

Apple Monopolizes Attention as S&P 500 Changes Little (Bloomberg)
Apple (AAPL), in the midst of its worst slump in four years, overshadowed forecast-beating earnings elsewhere in the technology sector. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 changed little after passing 1,500 early today. “We’ve been talking for a while that the market was going to get to 1,500,” Michael Vogelzang, chief investment officer at Boston Advisors LLC said. “The question now is, ‘To where from here?’” He said Apple’s drop is “a very interesting case in terms of understanding where the price should be and clearly the market doesn’t quite know.”

Jobs Numbers Improving, but Still Far from Ideal (CNBC)
The Labor Department delivered news that total new jobless claims were 330,000, an expectations-beating decline of 5,000. “This is mostly noise not a signal. The move last week and this week are biased on the low side due to seasonal factors,” Stephen Staley, chief economist at Pierpoint Securities, said in a more pointed analysis. “They will likely pop back up.”

Yen Slumps as Official Warns of Weakness (Reuters)
The yen halted a three-day rise against the U.S. dollar after a Japanese economic official said the Japanese government was fine with the dollar hitting 100 yen. “That disappointment only opened the door for bargain hunters who are now driving yen crosses up again due to the fact that Abenomics is still in play, and it will likely continue,” said Neal Gilbert, market strategist at GFT in Grand Rapids, Mich.