Apple set to report drop in revenues 

Apple, an industry outlier with no mass layoffs so far, is set to post its first-ever revenue declines across product lines, even as iPhone demand and production recovered in China.

Apple will likely report a more than 4% drop in revenue, its second straight quarterly decline, weighed down by consumers shunning non-essential purchases such as iPhones and Mac computers and slowing growth at its services business.

The results on Thursday night from the world's most valuable company will follow better-than-expected earnings from US technology peers, which had raised hopes that the worst may be over for a sector that has laid off tens of thousands this year.