Shares in Apple Inc. slid more than 2 percent on Monday, pushed down by broader economic concerns in Europe and worries over the effects of a Foxconn strike in China. AAPL ended the Monday session down, at US$638.17 per share, a loss of $14.42 (-2.21 percent), on strong volume of 22.7 million shares trading hands.
Europe's effect on the markets were broad, rather than Apple-specific, as investors started worrying about economic reports expected out of the EU this week. Spain also continued to weigh down the markets.
All three major U.S. indices were down on Monday. The DOW was off 0.21 percent, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ was down 0.75 percent. The S&P 500 was down 0.38 percent.
Speaking of techs, investors were not at all pleased to learn that 4,000 workers at a Foxconn iPhone factory in China had gone on strike. They workers were reportedly striking over new quality control standards they claim they weren't trained for or compensated for when those standards led to longer working hours.
4,000 employees is a drop in the Apple bucket, considering the reality that many hundreds of thousands of people are involved in Apple's massive supply and production chain. The reality, however, is that the only limit to the number of iPhones that Apple can sell is how many it can make, so any disruption in that chain is bad news for Apple's bottom line, and that was reflected in Monday's downturn.
Lastly, news that Apple is running into resistance from the Chinese government on a deal with China Mobile got some attention from Trefis on Monday, though it broke last week. Deutsche Band issued a research note saying there was no momentum for such a deal.
Wall Street has looked for growth out of China, baking in some of Apple's forward value in the company reaching a deal with China Mobile. China Mobile is the world's largest carrier in the world's largest market, and getting the iPhone on the company's network will be a big boost for Apple's stock if and when it happens.
Facebook's stock was also a drag on tech stocks after BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield downgraded the social networking giant to a “Sell.” His concerns centered on the company's ability, or lack thereof, to monetize its mobile strategy.
*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a tiny, almost insignificant share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.