Midday market 12/07: Apple and banks pull index, buyers try to regain control of money flow

US stock market quite subdued in Thursday morning session after yesterday's decline, with S&P500 trying to find buyers around 3950. Statements from directors of major banks about the not-so-optimistic economic situation continue to weigh on investor sentiment while other data show inflation still not under control under current Federal Reserves interest rate policy. Similar to the past two days, large and mega-cap tech pull the market, especially after rather pessimistic forecasts on shopping demand, particularly iPhone, this winter.

This morning's data revises hourly labor costs in Q3 down from +3.1% to +2.4% while labor productivity up from +0.6% to +0.8%. This is welcome signal for job market, easing pressure on product & service prices: