By Sue Chang, MarketWatch , Ryan Vlastelica

Boeing rallies after strong quarter and outlook

U.S. stocks retreated Wednesday on the back of a sharp decline by shares of Apple, the largest U.S. company by market cap, and as a rebound by crude oil fizzled.

Major indexes opened broadly lower. Apple led the decline, and while it continued to see its biggest one-day drop since June, the broader market at one point recovered alongside energy stocks before losing upside momentum. December West Texas Intermediate crude slid 1.4%.

The oil-price bounce came after the Energy Information Administration reported domestic crude supplies unexpectedly fell in the latest week (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-turn-higher-after-eia-reports-unexpected-600000-million-barrel-decline-in-us-crude-supply-2016-10-26), a positive sign for a market that continues to struggle with oversupply.

The S&P 500 slipped 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,136, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 4 points to 18,174. The Nasdaq Composite Index , which is heavily weighted toward technology names, fell 38 points, or 0.7%, to 5,245.

Wednesday's trading was the latest session in which overall market activity, at least in terms of swings for the major indexes, was extremely quiet.

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-market-has-reached-a-historic-level-of-quiet-2016-10-26)See:The stock market has reached a historic level of quiet (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-stock-market-has-reached-a-historic-level-of-quiet-2016-10-26)

Apple Inc.(AAPL) sank 2.8% a day after the iPhone maker posted quarterly earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-revenue-dips-but-rebound-expected-2016-10-25) that slightly beat expectations and revenue that was just shy of forecasts. Investors also may have been disappointed that the tech giant's projections for the current quarter weren't more bullish. The day's decline was on track to be Apple's biggest one-day drop since April and follows a rally that lifted the share price nearly 15% between early September and Tuesday.

"The quarter wasn't bad to me, but if you're going to report a quarter after a [share] rise of this much in this short of time, then it has to be a powerful one. Instead, this was just lukewarm," said Michael Binger, senior portfolio manager at Gradient Investments LLC, which counts Apple as a holding.

"We continue to like the stock, and think the next 12 months will see a big replacement cycle for the iPhone."

Read:Apple forecast disappoints, but shares are still a bargain, analysts say (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-forecast-disappoints-but-shares-are-still-attractive-analysts-say-2016-10-26)

See also:This key Nasdaq gauge is topping out and Apple isn't helping (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-key-nasdaq-gauge-is-peaking-as-apple-starts-to-look-mushy-2016-10-26)

Analyst Amit Daryanani at RBC Capital Markets LLC believes the selloff will result in an attractive entry point for investors to buy Apple given the company's fundamentals remain intact.

Apple's results overshadowed better-than-expected results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeings-stock-surges-after-profit-rises-well-above-expectations-2016-10-26) from Boeing Co.(BA), which rallied 4.3% after also raising its outlook. Both companies are Dow components.

The market weakness on Wednesday comes after a downbeat day on Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-point-to-gains-as-apple-set-to-take-the-spotlight-2016-10-25) when worries about a string of lackluster earnings and a drop in consumer sentiment sent major indexes lower.

However, gains in the S&P 500 financial sector, which climbed as expectations for an interest-rate hike mounted, offset some of the broader market's drop.

"The financial names are enjoying the move higher as the 10-year Treasury yield climbs in anticipation of a December Federal Reserve rate hike," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 3.1 basis points to 1.788%, according to FactSet.

The probability of a Fed hike in November is low at only 8.3%, according to the CME Group's Fed Watch tool (http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html), which measures pricing in the Fed funds futures market. However, for December the tool is pointing to an almost 80% chance of a rate increase.

Read:Yellen, global central bankers not 'singing from the same song sheet' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yellen-global-central-bankers-not-singing-from-same-song-sheet-2016-10-26)

In the latest economic data, new home sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/new-home-sales-run-at-annual-593000-rate-in-september-as-market-grinds-slowly-higher-2016-10-26) picked up in September, but hefty downward revisions to sales in earlier months point to a market still struggling for momentum.

Corporate news: Among other earnings, Southwest Airlines Co.(LUV) slumped 7.5% after the carrier reported a drop in third-quarter profit and revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/southwest-airlines-shares-climb-after-earnings-beat-2016-10-26). Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.(CMG) skidded 9.6% after the burrito chain late Tuesday reported a 95% slump in third-quarter profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chipotle-gives-optimist-outlook-profit-down-95-2016-10-25).

Pandora Media Inc.(P) shed 4.8% after the internet radio company recorded another quarter of losses (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pandora-shares-slump-on-third-quarter-loss-2016-10-25).

On the upside, Twitter Inc.(TWTR) gained 0.6% following speculation that Walt Disney Co.(DIS) has taken renewed interest in buying the social media company (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/twitter-shares-jump-on-rumor-of-renewed-disney-interest-2016-10-25).

Tesla Motors Inc.(TSLA) and Texas Instruments Inc.(TXN) are due to report after the market close.

Read:Tesla third-quarter earnings--what to expect (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tesla-third-quarter-earnings-what-to-expect-2016-10-17)

Other markets: Stocks in Asia closed mostly lower (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/australian-wipeout-leads-asian-market-declines-2016-10-25), and Europe followed suit with all major benchmarks mired in red (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-down-for-third-straight-day-as-commodity-shares-pull-back-2016-10-26).

Metals traded mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-futures-at-three-week-highs-as-dollar-stocks-wobble-2016-10-26), with gold futures firming initially but now off 0.5% and silver down 0.8%.

The ICE dollar index was mostly flat (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-struggles-to-move-higher-aussie-dollar-surges-on-inflation-2016-10-26) after touching its highest level in nearly nine months on Tuesday.

--Sara Sjolin contributed to this report.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2016 15:04 ET (19:04 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.