Stocks close down on slide in Apple shares

STORY: U.S. stocks reversed course Monday, ending lower after seeing gains earlier in the day, after a report said Apple plans to slow hiring and spend less next year.

The Dow ended down about seven tenths of a percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell about eight tenths of a percent, after seeing solid gains in the morning.

Shares of Apple dropped 2% after Bloomberg reported that the world's most valuable company plans to slow hiring and spending for some units next year to cope with a potential economic downturn.

Bank stocks shed earlier gains but stayed in positive territory after Goldman Sachs and Bank of America both reported smaller-than-expected declines in profit.

Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, noted that the banks are also shoring up for a likely recession.

"Overall, the banks are loading up on their bad debt reserves because they anticipate that we're likely to fall into a recession in the coming year. And so they're making sure that they prepare for it. Now, we're finding that the initial public offerings, we're finding that investment banking activities in general are very, very weak. However, we have been seeing an improvement in trading because with the markets being very, very volatile, that's where they make their money. So, in general, the financials have not done well on a price basis in anticipation of the weaker-than-expected earnings."

Shares of Boeing also reversed course to end flat after initially jumping on news from Delta Air Lines, which said it would buy 100 MAX 10 jets worth about $13.5 billion and had options to buy another 30.

Finally, shares of Nvidia rose ahead of a potential Senate vote set for Tuesday on legislation to bolster the U.S. chip industry.