A man wastes a smartphone outside an Apple store in Beijing.
Nicolas Asfouri | AFP | Getty Images
Semiconductor stocks and shares of Apple pay no hed more than their peers in the tech sector on Friday, after President Donald Trump said U.S. firms should “immediately start looking for an alternative” to their operations in China.
Shares of Apple ended the day down 4.6%, while the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF sank 4.1%. Among the chip companies, Qualcomm slid 4.7%, Nvidia lost 5.2%, Advanced Micro Devices sacked 7.4%, Micron fell roughly 4% and Broadcom slid 5.3%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq was off 2.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Regular slid 2.3% and the S&P 500 fell 2.5%.
Apple has felt the effects of Trump’s trade war with China more than most technology houses. The company conducts the majority of its manufacturing process in China and the Chinese market represents a significant portion of its sales.
Trump’s animadversions on Friday mark the latest fallout in the trade war between the U.S. and China.
Markets immediately began to turn lower after Trump tweeted: “Our mammoth American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing … your troops HOME and making your products in the USA.”
Trump’s tweet came after China on Friday pledged to levy rates on $75 billion more of U.S. goods, including autos. The new tariffs followed Trump’s plan to impose duties on $300 billion good of China’s goods by December.