Shares in Apple Inc. dropped 3.41% on Tuesday, ending the day at US$338.61, down $11.95 (-3.41%), on heavy volume of more than 31 million shares trading hands. Investors were spooked by continued civil unrest in the Middle East, and Libya, and rumors that Apple’s as yet unannounced iPad 2 and iPhone 5 will be delayed didn’t help Apple, either.
Earlier on Tuesday we reported conflicting rumors that the iPad and iPhone production issues would cause delays on their release, along with some conflicting reports that this just wasn’t the case.
The uncertainty didn’t do a thing to help Apple amidst the broader selloff, and not even what looked like a controlled leak to AllThingsD that Apple was announcing the iPad 2 on March 2nd could boost Apple’s stock.
Source: Yahoo! Finance
AAPL has been at historic highs in recent weeks, a condition that lends itself well to investors taking profits, especially in a selloff. Other tech companies also saw their stocks take a hit, including HP, which closed at $48.23, down $0.440 (-0.90%); Microsoft, which closed at $26.59, down $0.470 (-1.74%); Intel, which closed at $21.81, down $0.330 (-1.49%); Oracle, closing at $32.53, down $1.15 (-3.41%); Dell, closing at $15.145, down $0.285 (-1.85%); and many more.
The tech-heavy NASDAQ ended the day at 2756.42, down 77.53 (-2.74%). The DOW also sold off, even though oil companies rose on the same Middle East/Libya news that punished the rest of the market, ending the day at 12212.79, off by 178.46 (-1.44%).
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.