Apple shares tumbled Thursday, on track to wipe out $200 billion of market value in just two days, as China plans to expand a ban on the use of iPhones to government-backed agencies and state companies.
Shares of the Cupertino, California-based company fell as
much as 5.1%, bringing its two-day slump to 6.8%. Apple is the biggest
component in major US equity indexes, adding to a broader selloff sparked in
part by a litany of woes in China.
The world’s second-biggest economy has been slumping amid a
protracted crisis in its real estate market, threatening demand for everything
from commodities to consumer electronics. The iPhone maker counts China as its
biggest foreign market and global production base.
Adding to Apple’s troubles are rising US Treasury yields as
bonds sell off on worries the Federal Reserve will have to step up its fight
against inflation as the US economy remains resilient.
The news is having a widespread effect on the markets, with
investors selling everything from chips, mega-cap technology to US-listed
Chinese stocks.
“The Nasdaq is sinking as one bad Apple spoils a bunch of
mega-cap tech stocks,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.
“Apple’s growth story is heavily reliant on China and if the Beijing crackdown
intensifies that could pose a big problem to the bunch of other mega-cap tech
companies that rely on China.”
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index was trading lower by about
1%, meanwhile the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which consists of several
Apple suppliers, was down 2.5% on Thursday.
Bank of America Corp. analyst Wamsi Mohan notes that the
“timing of the potential ban is interesting” given the recent launch of Huawei
Technologies Co. high-end 5G-capable smartphone.
The teardown of the new device shows that Beijing seems to
be making early progress in a nationwide push to circumvent US efforts to
contain its ascent, with Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro being powered by Semiconductor
Manufacturing International Corp.’s 7nm chips, according to an analysis that
TechInsights conducted for Bloomberg News.
If Beijing goes ahead with a ban, the unprecedented blockade
might also affect several other US technology companies that rely on sales and
production in China. Apple suppliers across continents were trading lower on
Thursday as multiple reports confirmed China’s latest changes.
However, bullish analysts like Wedbush Securities’ Daniel
Ives think the effect of an “iPhone ban is way overblown” as it would affect
less than 500,000 iPhones of the roughly 45 million he expects to be sold in
the country over the next 12 months.
“Despite the loud noise Apple has seen massive share gains
in China smartphone market,” Ives, who has an overweight rating on the stock,
wrote in a note.