Chinese tech sector falls after Tim Cook says China is slowing
07 January, 2019
Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC on Wednesday that he believed the ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and China "put additional pressure" on Asia's largest economy.
Hours after the publication of those comments, China's overall tech sector fell slightly and shares of some Apple suppliers dove during Thursday's mid-morning Asian trading.
China's tech-heavy Chinext composite fell about 1 percent to close at around 1,487.30. The Shenzhen composite ended its trading day lower by 0.798 percent at approximately 1,246.37 while the Shenzhen component saw losses of 0.837 percent to close at about 7,089.44. Because of their composition, the Shenzhen indexes are closely watched as indicators of Chinese tech shares.
The Chinese stock markets are heavily influenced by retail investors, who are thought to be driven more by short-term sentiment than institutional investors. Recent economic data from China has pointed to a slowing economy, with the country's manufacturing sector shrinking in December.
Cook's Wednesday comments came as Apple moved to cut its revenue guidance for the first quarter.
The tech giant blamed a variety of factors for the lowered guidance, including a weakening economy in China and lower-than-expected iPhone revenue. Apple said the lower-than-anticipated revenue happened "primarily in Greater China," but also said that upgrades to new iPhone models in other countries were "not as strong as we thought they would be.