Axios on HBO/YouTube
- Coronavirus fears hammered technology stocks on Monday.
- The prospect of a global pandemic wiped more than $200 billion from the combined market capitalizations of Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook.
- Shares in all five tech titans slumped at least 4% after coronavirus deaths were reported in Iran, Italy, and South Korea.
- Apple expects to miss its quarterly revenue target because coronavirus has forced store closures, eroded customer traffic, and disrupted its supply chain.
-
Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Coronavirus fears erased more than $200 billion from Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook‘s combined market capitalization on Monday.
All five technology titans saw their stocks tumble at least 4% as investors braced for coronavirus to escalate into a global pandemic. Apple, the most valuable public company in the world, saw more than $60 billion wiped off its $1.4 trillion market cap.
Microsoft also gave up nearly $60 billion, while Amazon and Alphabet’s market caps both shrunk by more than $40 billion. Facebook, the least valuable member of the group, surrendered more than $25 billion.
President Donald Trump praised Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Amazon as “MAGA” stocks earlier this month, when all four boasted market caps north of $1 trillion. Monday’s sell-off pushed Alphabet below that valuation, and Amazon closed just north of it.
However, the “big tech” quintet look set to regain ground — their stocks rose roughly 1% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.
Wuhan coronavirus — which causes a disease called COVID-19 — has infected nearly 80,000 people, killed more than 2,600, and spread to roughly 3o countries. Recent fatalities in Iran, Italy, and South Korea have fanned fears that it will spread worldwide and hamper global growth.
Apple recently warned that it expects to fall short of its revenue forecast for this quarter. It blamed coronavirus forcing store closures in China, eroding customer traffic, and disrupting its supply chain. Investors are signaling that they expect the outbreak to weigh on Apple’s tech rivals as well.
