Once again, it was a case of buy on the rumour, sell on the fact as punters got excited about the release of Apple’s new iPhone – but knocked the shares back after the product didn’t fulfil sky high expectations. Here’s the view from “Heard of the Street” compiled by our partners at the Wall Street Journal. – Alec Hogg
Apple 12 disappoints ‘buy on rumour’ punters
From Heard On The Street team at the Wall Street Journal
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It seems 12 wasn’t Apple’s lucky number. As widely-expected, the company unveiled its latest iPhone on Tuesday – the first one compatible with 5G wireless technology. After a big rise on Monday, the company’s shares saw early gains evaporate and they eventually closed down by 2.65%.
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The pattern isn’t at all unusual. Looking at all iPhone launches, Apple’s shares have typically risen in the month prior to the big day, appreciating by nearly 5% on average. In the following month they have often given up at least part of those gains, falling by 0.2% on average.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which Apple is a component, fell 157 points or 0.55%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite did better, falling by a tenth of a percent.
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Apple wasn’t the only thing weighing on markets. News overnight that a major Covid-19 vaccine trial being conducted by Johnson & Johnson was paused because of an adverse event spooked investors. Later on Tuesday news emerged that clinical trials for an experimental drug combination by Eli Lilly similar to the one given to President Donald Trump also was halted.
