Nasdaq slides as Apple peels; Dow, S&P 500 manage gains

NEW YORK — For most of the year, Apple has propelled the Nasdaq composite forward. The stock climbed nearly 60% from $405 at the start of 2012 to more than $636 last week, and the technology-dominated index easily beat the gains of other indexes.

Now Apple is sliding the other way and taking the Nasdaq down with it.

Apple dropped $25.10, or 4.1%, to $580.13 on Monday, its fifth-consecutive session of declines. The losing streak has wiped out about $60 billion of Apple’s market value.

The Nasdaq fell 22.93 points, or 0.8%, to 2988.40. The index is still up about 15% for the year.

“It’s been a very quirky market, because it’s been a few companies that have delivered most of the rally this year,” said Mark Lamkin, CEO of Lamkin Wealth Management.

Apple, the maker of iphones and ipads, is still the most valuable company in the world, and accounts for 12% of the Nasdaq, more than any other stock.

But last week, a veteran technology analyst boldly issued a downgrade for Apple. He predicted that cellphone companies would probably stop offering generous subsidies for customers to adopt the iphone.

Investors may also be locking in profits and getting out before Apple reports earnings April 24. Even after the five-session decline, Apple stock is up 43% for the year.

“It’s had a huge run,” said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial. “Some investors probably said, ‘Might as well take some profits.’ ”

The broader stock market was flat, helped by strong March retail sales but hurt by continuing concerns about rising borrowing costs for debttroubled Spain. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 0.69 points to 1369.57.

Utility stocks and banks rose, while energy companies and so-called consumer discretionary stocks fell.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 71.82 points, or 0.6%, to 12,921.41. Apple is not part of the Dow.

The government reported that retail sales rose 0.8% in March from April, twice what analysts had been expecting. Skeptics wondered whether the buying was just a result of early buying of spring goods due to the mild winter, rather than a sign of recovery.