Apple's margin forecast sends Dow Jones Industrial Average lower

• DJIA falls to its lowest since 14 October, erasing Monday's gains in full.
• Semiconductor shares drive a recovery in the Nasdaq and S&P 500 following three consecutive sessions of losses.
• October payrolls are due on Friday as midterm vote counting precedes Wednesday's session.

Tuesday's advance in semiconductor shares has supported the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 following three consecutive sessions of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, by contrast, has surrendered Monday's entire gain and is trading around 51,700, marginally below Friday's close. Earlier in the session, it touched roughly 51,500, its weakest level since 14 October.

Disappointing results from Apple (AAPL) on Monday are dragging on the Dow. Analysts were underwhelmed by the gross margin forecast and fiscal fourth-quarter iPad sales, both of which fell short of estimates. Following the release, HSBC lowered its Apple share price forecast by $6 to $360.

Ahead of its third-quarter results, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is advancing alongside Broadcom (AVGO), Micron (MU) and Nvidia (NVDA). That reverses Monday's pattern, when the Dow gained while the Nasdaq Composite lost more than 1%. Relative to its recent high, the NASDAQ 100 remains around 10% lower; the Dow is less than 6% below its August peak.

Midterm Results and Employment Data Set the Calendar

Once Tuesday's US midterm polls close, vote counting begins. Wednesday offers investors their first trading session to respond to the results determining control of the House and Senate from January. Prediction markets assign Democrats a probability of nearly 75% of taking the Senate. Investors and analysts said share prices do not yet reflect a Democratic sweep of both chambers.

A reading of 69K, down from 90K, is forecast for October's Automatic Data Processing (ADP) employment count, scheduled for 13:15 GMT on Wednesday. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) services index is then due at 15:00 GMT, with a forecast of 54.8. Friday brings October Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) at 13:30 GMT, with expectations of 65K following 29K. Both employment counts will inform the Fed's December interest rate decision.

Dow Retraces Half Its October Advance

About half of the rise from just above 50,500 on 1 October has been erased by the retreat from the late-October high around 52,900. For a third session, the index is trading beneath its 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), near 52,100. The 200-day EMA stands around 50,750. Having remained overbought for much of the second half of October, daily momentum has since eased out of that territory.

Daily Dow Jones chart