Apple sours stocks
Market tanks on word of slow iPhone sales in China
NEW YORK — Stocks went into a steep slide Thursday after Apple sent a shudder through Wall Street with word that iPhone sales in China are falling.
The rare warning of disappointing results from Apple reinforced investors’ fears that the world’s second-biggest economy is losing steam and that trade tensions between Washington and Beijing are making things worse.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged as much as 677 points about an hour into trading, then began climbing back, but was still down more than 600 points at 3 p.m.
Apple stock plummeted 9.7%, erasing $72 billion in value.
Other big exporters, including technology and heavy-machinery companies, also took big losses. Some of the worst drops were at chipmakers that make components used in smartphones and other gadgets.
“For a while now there’s been an adage in the markets that as long as Apple was doing fine, everyone else would be OK,” said Neil Wilson, chief markets analyst at Markets.com. “Therefore, Apple’s rare profit warning is a red flag for market watchers. The question is to what extent this is more Apple-specific.”
Investors were also unsettled by a report Thursday that showed signs of weakness in U.S. manufacturing.
The U.S.-China trade dispute threatens to snarl multinational companies’ supply lines and reduce demand for their products. Companies such as General Motors, Caterpillar and Daimler have all said recently that trade tensions, combined with slower growth in China, were damaging their businesses.
Apple took its biggest loss in six years Thursday and was down to $142.66 in afternoon trading.