Apple Falls From Mr. Market’s Tree

U.S. index ETFs were mostly flat on Monday as Apple Computer fell hard and dragged major markets down with it.

Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL) is a major player in U.S. stock indexes and ETFs since it’s the largest company in the world and often plays the roll of “tail wagging the dog.”

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) makes up 10% of the Nasdaq Composite, more than Google and Microsoft combined, 4% of the entire S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) and 20% of PowerShares QQQ, (NYSEARCA:QQQ) the leading Nasdaq tech ETF.

Apple’s problems spring from declining iPhone sales and from technical weakness since the company’s stock recently formed a “death cross” pattern, which is a widely respected “sell” signal.

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