Stocks - Wall Street Falls as Apple's Revenue Warning Flags Fresh Virus Fears
By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com – Wall Street fell Tuesday on fresh worries about the impact of the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak on global growth after Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) warned that the virus would stall iPhone demand and production in China.
The S&P 500 fell 0.48%, the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.20% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.72%.
Apple said it will miss its fiscal second-quarter revenue guidance range of $63 billion to $67 billion, sending its shares more than 2% lower.
Some on Wall Street, however, maintained their optimism on Apple amid expectations the impact on revenue will likely be temporary.
"We assume that, as with every other company operating in China, the situation on the ground continues to evolve for Apple. We are reducing our forecasts for both the March and June quarters, but we see this as a temporary issue for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)," Goldman Sachs said in a note
Still, revenue warning raised fears about the performance of the tech giant's supply chain disruptions, with chipmakers in particular coming under pressure.
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO), Skyworks (NASDAQ:SWKS) and Micron (NASDAQ:MU) fell more than 1%, keeping the broader tech sector in the red.
Energy stocks, meanwhile, led the decline in Wall Street, paced by a fall in oil prices amid lingering fears about the virus' impact on Chinese oil demand.
Beyond virus jitters, the final wave of earnings also garnered investor attention.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) climbed nearly 1% after shrugging off weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results, which it blamed on softer-than-expected performance over the holidays.
Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) reported earnings that topped consensus estimates, sending its share about 7% higher.
Elsewhere, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) resumed its run higher, rising about 6%, after analysts on Wall Street raised their price targets on the electric automaker.
Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) to $500 from $360 (and to $1,200 for its bull case) and Bernstein upped its price target to $730 from $325.
In merger news, Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) said it had tabled a $50-per-share deal to acquire rival asset manager Legg Mason (NYSE:LM). Shares of Legg Mason jumped 24%.
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