Apple’s unexpected warning over weak Chinese sales has stoked fears for the health of the global economy, rattling financial markets and leading traders to ramp up bets that the Federal Reserve is more likely to cut interest rates than raise them in 2019.
The iPhone maker’s first cut to its revenue forecast in 16 years put its shares on track for an 8 per cent decline yesterday — its biggest one-day drop in five years — and helped fuel a broader equities sell-off as investors fretted about the state of the Chinese market.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was down 1.6 per cent by midday in New York, ending a run of five consecutive gains, while the S&P 500 benchmark fell 1.2 per cent. A renewed sell-off in Asia and Europe sent the FTSE All-World index down 1.3 per cent.