Wednesday's Market Watch: Apple Takes It Hard

President Obama addressed the US people on Tuesday night and confirmed that he was planning to put his plan to launch targeted military attacks in Syria on the shelf, for now. The President, together with the UN, has agreed to allow Syria to turn over its chemical weapons in order to avoid a military strike.

There is a lot of skepticism surrounding the proposal, backed by Syrian ally, Russia, as many worry about stalling tactics. Moving forward, UN leaders are expected to iron out the details of this plan and avoid military involvement.

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In other news around the markets:

• The Bank of Japan’s Koji Ishida said on Wednesday that exports will be a vital part of the country’s recovery. He also argued for the Japanese government’s planned sales tax hike, saying it could increase consumption as it may boost confidence in Japan’s economic outlook. He said the bank is willing to step in with policy changes if need be, but urged lawmakers not to overreact to a temporary dip due to the sales tax increase.
• The Greek Finance Ministry released data on Tuesday which showed the country was moving in the right direction and keeping up with the terms of its bailout. The data showed a primary surplus of 2.9 billion euros so far in 2013, compared to last year’s 1.4 billion euro deficit. The figures surpassed estimates in the country’s bailout plan which forecast a 2.5 billion euro deficit.
• Immediately following Apple Inc’s announcement of its new, lower cost iPhone 5C, the company’s share prices slipped 0.6 percent to $502.85. On Tuesday afternoon, shares had fallen below $500, a three percent drop. Suppliers’ shares also slumped following the announcement as many worried that the new cheaper phone was still too expensive to reach key emerging markets. In pre-market trade, shares of Apple sit just above $483, an 11.54 percent drop below Tuesday's close.
• Reuters reported that analysts are expecting that the US Federal reserve will announce the beginning of its tapering plan at next week’s policy meeting. Most see the bank cutting its asset purchases by $10 billion, down from previous estimates of a $15 billion reduction.