Stocks began to decline sharply on Monday as some of the largest technology shares and persistent worries regarding global trade pressured the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 504 points due to a decline in Apple. The S&P 500 decreased by two percent as the technology sector receded 3.9 percent. Nasdaq Composite also fell 3.1 percent, while Amazon dropped by 4.5 percent.
After The Wall Street Journal reported Apple cut production orders for the new iPhones revealed earlier this year, the company’s tech shares began to lower. Apple’s stock declined by four percent and fell, yet again, into a bear market – down 20 percent from its 52-week high.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed a more aggressive managerial style, according to another WSJ report. The Journal stated that Zuckerberg told 50 of his top executives earlier this year that the company is being faced with war as it receives pressure from lawmakers, investors and users. This reports follows backlash from a New York Times article detailing how “Facebook company ignored and then tried to hide that Russia used the platform to disrupt the U.S. election in 2016,” reports CNBC.
“It’s going to require a recovery in tech to make things happen,” said Greg Luken, CEO of Luken Investment Analytics. “I think where we are in tech, we’re going to see tough sledding towards the end of the year. I think stocks that are down will see further selling pressure.”
In addition, tech shares also began to fall after The Financial Times reported Chinese authorities alleged “massive evidence” of antitrust violations by Samsung SK Hynix and Micron Technology. The report states China will further investigate into the three companies, which are the largest memory-chip manufactures in the world.
If those weren’t enough shares that are declining, there’s more. Micron fell 5.9 percent while Advanced Micro Devices dropped 6.2 percent. Shares of Netflix and Alphabet also dropped 4.9 percent and 2.7 percent.
The tech sector held the best performer title in the S&P 500 last year and is the second-best performer for 2018. However, tech is down more than 10 percent from its 52-week high.
“For the past year and a half, we’ve had a rolling correction that has been hitting sector after sector. I think investors are finally getting around to the leaders,” said Maris Ogg, president at Tower Bridge Advisors. Ogg added she thinks this decline in tech is a buying opportunity. “Many of these companies have best growth rates of any industry. We think that’s going to continue.”
