The Latest: Rare walk-back from Apple weighs on US markets

NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on sales at Apple Inc., which issued a rare cut to its revenue forecast citing weakness in China (all times local):

9:50 a.m.

Shares of Apple are tumbling in early trading after the tech giant issued a rare cut to its revenue forecast due to weakness in China.

In a letter to the company shareholders, Apple CEO Tim Cook traced most of the damage to China, which is squaring off with the U.S. in a trade war just as its economy begins to show signs of slowing.

Apple sits at the top of an immense food chain of tech companies that supply it from Europe, Asia and the U.S., and almost all are being hit hard.

Cook issued the letter after the stock market closed Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Apple’s stock dropped $14.69, or 9.3 percent, to $143.23.

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9:15 a.m.

A rare call by Apple to walk back its quarterly revenue projections is weighing broadly on U.S. markets, and particularly the tech sector.

Shares of Apple Inc. are down 9 percent before the opening bell Thursday, and the S&P tech sector is by far the worst performer with less than an hour before trading begins.

Apple sits at the top of an immense food chain of tech companies that supply it from Europe, Asia and the U.S., and almost all are being hit hard. STMicroelectronics, based in Paris, plunged 14 percent. Broadcom Inc. in Silicon Valley dropped 4 percent, as did the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

In a letter to the company shareholders after the stock market closed Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook traced most of the damage to China, which is squaring off with the U.S. in a trade war just as its economy begins to show signs of slowing.

Ten of the 11 S&P sectors are in decline.