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By Subrat Patnaik
Apple Inc. shares tumbled in premarket trading Thursday, on track to wipe out $194 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 3.2% premarket, after slumping 3.6% Wednesday. 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 woes are rising US Treasury yields as bonds selloff on worries the Federal Reserve will have to step up its fight against inflation as the US economy remains resilient.
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If Beijing goes ahead, 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.
