Apple's stock took a dip after the company unveiled its new lineup of MacBook computers, powered by a new line of high-performance chips, just days before its highly anticipated fourth-quarter earnings report. Priced between $1,299 and $2,499, the new MacBooks are expected to launch over the coming weeks and investors are hoping they'll provide support for Apple's product sales during the holiday quarter.

Apple is also expanding its chip design capabilities with these new MacBooks, with the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips. The M3 Max chip is particularly interesting as it can be used by AI developers and could be seen as a challenge to Nvidia's early market dominance.

Analysts are looking for Apple to report a fourth-quarter earnings of $1.39 per share, up 7.8% from the previous year, on revenue of $89.28 billion. However, the key focus will be Apple's forecast for the holiday quarter. With reports of weaker than expected sales for the iPhone 15, the sales of the new MacBooks could be crucial in determining Apple's performance in the upcoming months.

Despite the new product announcements, Apple's stock slipped 0.4% to $169.54, pushing it into negative territory for the past six months. Investors will be eagerly awaiting Apple's earnings report to see if the new MacBook lineup can boost sales and bring positive news for the company.