Market Recap: Markets Brought Down by -- Apple?

Markets closed mixed today:

▲ Dow: +0.56 percent

▼ Nasdaq: -0.76 percent

▼ S&P: -0.05 percent

Precious metals:

▼ Gold: down -0.24 percent to $1,651.00 an ounce

▲ Silver: down +0.10 percent to settle at $31.46

Commodities:

▲ Oil: +0.08 percent

Markets closed mixed because:

For most of the year, Apple has propelled the Nasdaq composite index forward. The stock climbed from $405 at the start of the year to more than $630 last week, and the Nasdaq easily beat the gains of other indexes.

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

Apple stock dropped more than $25 on Monday, its fifth straight day of declines. The losing streak has wiped out about $60 billion of Apple's market value. That's more than the most optimistic projections of the value of Facebook.

Apple helped push the Nasdaq composite index down 22.93 points on Monday to 2,988.40. The index is now up about 15 percent for the year after almost reaching 20 percent by the end of March.

"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 in Louisville, Ky. "It's not been a broad-based rally."

Apple, still the most valuable company in the world, accounts for 12 percent of the Nasdaq, more than any other stock. It has been on an almost uninterrupted climb for three years, powered by its hot iPhones and iPads.

But last week, a veteran technology analyst boldly issued a downgrade for Apple. He predicted that cellphone companies would probably stop offering such 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-day decline, Apple stock is up 43 percent for the year.

The broader stock market was flat, helped by strong March retail sales but hurt by continuing concerns about rising borrowing costs for debt-troubled Spain. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 0.69 point to 1,369.57.

Apple dragged down other technology stocks, which fell more than any other industry group in the S&P. Google, which went to trial Monday against Oracle in a copyright case over the Android phone, dropped for the second day in a row.

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

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 71.82 points to 12,921.41, a gain of 0.6 percent. All but six of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow rose for the day, explaining why it rose while the S&P was flat. Apple is not part of the Dow.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.