US Stocks Plummet Nearly 200 Points After Apple Notes Concerning Revenue Forecast

Major US stock indexes dropped Tuesday afternoon after Apple announced that it will likely not meet its fiscal second-quarter forecasts because production of and consumer demand for iPhones in China has slowed down amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by around 166 points (around 0.5%) Tuesday while the S&P 500 decreased by 0.3% or 10 points. Apple shares also slid by around 1.9% Tuesday, CNBC reported.

“While this is disappointing, by now we don’t believe it’s surprising, and we still expect the issues to be transitory,” said Chris Caso, an analyst at investment banking company Raymond James, is quoted as saying by CNBC. “We think almost all of the production and most of the demand is likely to be recaptured once Apple’s manufacturing partners are able to return to full production, and once retail facilities in China return to normal.”

Apple on Monday announced that there was “a slower return to normal conditions than we [they] had anticipated” due to the coronavirus. Apple’s warning note also caused some of its suppliers to experience declining shares, with Skyworks Solutions, Xilinx and Qorvo shares dropping by 1,9%, 0.5% and 2.4%, respectively.

The stocks of banks and other energy companies also decreased Tuesday. HSBC’s shares slid by 5.5% Tuesday, while Well Fargo’s and Schlumberger’s shares dropped by 2.5% and 1.9%, respectively.

According to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, more than 73,000 people worldwide have been infected with the coronavirus. The disease has led to 1,875 deaths, 1,789 of which occurred in China’s Hubei province, where the virus first originated.

Sourse: sputniknews.com