© Reuters
biedexmarkets.com– Shares of Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:) Asian suppliers fell on Wednesday, tracking an overnight slump in the tech giant after media reports showed Chinese sales of its flagship iPhone tumbled in the beginning of 2024.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:) and SK Hynix Inc (KS:), which supply memory chips to Apple, fell 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively, while Hong Kong’s AAC Technologies (OTC:) Holdings Inc (HK:), which makes audio equipment, fell 1.9%.
Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:), which assembles iPhones for Apple, sank 1.5%, while chip supplier TSMC (TW:) lost about 0.4%.
In Japan, Murata Mfg Co (TYO:), which supplies key electronic components to Apple, fell 1.2%, while Sony Corp (TYO:), which supplies display and camera modules to Apple, fell 0.4%.
Apple’s shares slid 2.8% on Tuesday after media reports showed a 24% slump in Chinese iPhone sales in the first six weeks of 2024. The drop came as Apple grapples with increased competition from local players such as Huawei and Xiaomi (OTC:) Corp (HK:) amid shrinking consumer spending.
Softening Chinese sales were a key pain point for Apple over the past year, driven in part by worsening economic conditions in the world’s second-largest economy. China is Apple’s biggest production base for iPhones, and accounts for roughly 20% of phone sales.
Beijing’s economic forecasts for 2024, revealed on Tuesday, also underwhelmed markets.
Apple had slashed the prices of certain iPhone models in China, a trend that bodes poorly for its bottom-line. But the firm is facing increased competition for its higher-end products from Huawei, especially as the Chinese firm saw a sales recovery after the release of its Mate 60 series last year.
