News
Tuesday, November 03, 2026
What’s happening: Shares of Apple fell in after-hours trading on Monday following the release of its fiscal fourth-quarter results.
What happened: The iPhone maker reported better-than-expected revenues and earnings for the latest quarter.
Although Apple issued a strong sales forecast for the current quarter, it warned of rising memory chip costs weighing on its gross margins.
How were the results: The Cupertino, California-based company reported low double-digit sales growth for its fiscal fourth quarter.
Why it matters: Under new CEO John Ternus, Apple announced the launch of iPhone Pro and Duo models this quarter, with other models expected to be unveiled next year.
Apple also launched other non-iPhone models this quarter, including its first touchscreen laptop and smart-home hub.
Just weeks after its new iPhone Duo sold out online within hours and drew long queues at stores, the company faced widespread reports of cracked displays from buyers. The company’s CEO said a “very small percentage” of those models had been taken back for replacement.
North America sales came in at $46.68 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter, while Europe sales totalled $32.01 billion. China sales came in at $17.54 billion, below market expectations of $18.58 billion.
iPhone sales surged to $57.58 billion, while Mac sales rose to $10.79 billion. Sales of iPad fell to $6.23 billion, while Wearables, Home and Accessories sales slipped to $8.30 billion.
Management projected sales of 153.819-158.132 billion for the first quarter, above market estimates of $152.558 billion. Apple guided to gross margins of 45%-46% for the first quarter, representing a contraction from 47.9% in the fourth quarter.
How shares responded: Apple’s stock fell 2.8% to $328.81 in the extended trading hours following the release of quarterly earnings. The shares have jumped around 25% year to date.
What to watch: Investors will keep an eye on the company’s margins and the sales of its iPhone Duo models.
Context: The EUR/USD forex pair slipped this morning as investors assessed the latest manufacturing data.
Details: Data released on Monday showed that the S&P Global Eurozone manufacturing PMI fell to 52.7 in October, from the last month’s four-year high of 52.9. However, the latest reading came in slightly higher than the preliminary reading of 52.4, pointing toward continued growth in manufacturing activity.
Output growth eased to a four-month low, while total new business rose at a softer pace in October.
Germany’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI improved to 54.2 in October from 53.9 in September. Although France’s manufacturing PMI was revised higher to 49.5 in October from the preliminary reading of 49.3, the figure was below September’s 50.6 and representing a contraction.
The European Central Bank had last week left its key interest rates unchanged, while offering little insight into its next move.
Strength in the US dollar also weighed on the EUR/USD forex pair ahead of the US midterm elections. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, rose over 0.1% to 101.85 this morning.
The EUR/USD forex pair slipped around 0.1% to 1.1178 this morning.
What to watch: Data on S&P Global composite PMI, S&P Global services PMI and inflation rate will be released on Wednesday. Analysts expect the S&P Global Eurozone composite PMI to decline to 51.9 in October from the three-and-a-half-year high reading of 53.1 in September. Services PMI is projected to fall to 51.7 in October from 53.0 in the previous month.
The annual inflation rate, which accelerated for the third straight month to 3.8% in September, is expected to rise further to 3.9% in October.
Other Markets: US trading indices closed mixed on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 down by 0.51% and 1.39%, respectively, and the Dow Jones index up by 0.41%.
US envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington will mediate talks with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi next week on ending the ongoing war. The news sent the USD/RUB forex lower in forex trading this morning.
New Zealand’s building permits dipped 7.9% in September, following a revised 5.3% gain in August, which exerted pressure on the NZD/USD forex pair.
Canada’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI declined to 49.6 in October from 51.5 in the previous month. This being the first contraction in manufacturing activity so far this year sent the USD/CAD higher in forex trading this morning.
Singapore’s manufacturing PMI slipped to 51.4 in October from 51.7 in the previous month, which lent support to the USD/SGD forex pair.
UK’s S&P Global manufacturing PMI climbed to 52.8 in October from 51.9 in the previous month. However, the GBP/USD pair fell in forex trading this morning.