Stocks fell on Tuesday as a forecast warning from tech giant Apple stoked worries over the coronavirus and its impact on corporate profits and the global economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 224 points lower, or 0.8%. The index was also on pace for its third day in a row. The S&P 500 dipped 0.5% while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.3%. U.S. markets were closed Monday due to the Presidents Day holiday.
Apple cautioned it does not expect to meet its quarterly revenue forecast, citing slowed production and weakened demand in China as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The most valuable company in the U.S. initially said it expected to report net sales between $63 billion to $67 billion in its fiscal second quarter.
“In the short-term myopia of market consensus thinking, this downward cycle of first-quarter 2020 EPS estimates will be a short-term headwind,” said Tom Lee, founder and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors. “Expect a lot of negative chatter in the next few weeks.”
The company has not provided an updated forecast for its fiscal second-quarter. Shares of Apple traded 2.5% lower.
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks past a closed Apple Inc. store in Shanghai, China, on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“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 Raymond James, in a note. “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.”
Still, Apple’s warning sent shares of some suppliers lower. Skyworks Solutions slid 1.8% while Xilinx and Qorvo dropped 0.9% and 2.5%, respectively.
China’s National Health Commission on Tuesday reported an additional 98 deaths nationwide, with 1,886 new cases of the coronavirus. As of Feb. 17, the commission said there had been a total of 72,346 confirmed cases and 1,868 deaths.
Investors on Tuesday sold stocks in favor of traditionally safer assets such as Treasurys and gold. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to around 1.55% (yields move inversely to prices). Gold futures for April delivery climbed 1.1% to $1,603.60 per ounce.
“Today’s dosage of economic reality is coming as a wake-up call to global investors who continue to buy into the belief that Chinese authorities have the coronavirus under control,” said Erik Bregar, head of FX strategy at the Exchange Bank of Canada, in a note.
The major averages were coming off from a solid week in which they posted record highs. The Dow advanced 1% last week while the S&P 500 gained 1.6%. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, climbed 2.2%.
—CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.
