In a chaotic weekend that left tech investors scrambling for clarity, the White House appeared to offer - and then swiftly blur - a reprieve from its latest round of tariffs. What began on Friday night with apparent exemptions for smartphones, semiconductors and tech components ended on Sunday with officials insisting those exemptions weren't exemptions after all, just tweaks to the way tariffs are categorised.
Weekend exemptions spared the iPhone titan, but Apple is now at the mercy of Trump.
Apple's shares rose over 6% in Frankfurt after the U.S. granted exclusions from tariffs on smartphones, computers and some other electronics imported largely from China.
Asian tech hardware stocks broadly rose after the Trump administration exempted tariffs on semiconductor equipment, smartphones and other electronics, despite administration officials saying that these tech products would face their own levies.
Tariffs are rattling markets and leading to spikes in volatility. Growth-focused sectors like technology and consumer discretionary are particularly vulnerable given their cyclicality and global exposure.
Shares of Apple (AAPL 3.95%) are currently 26% below their peak from December last year (as of April 10), a drop that has been spurred by ongoing tariff announcements. As of this writing, there is a huge 145% tariff that's implemented on goods leaving China for the U.S. If this remains in place, it could harm Apple, because 80% of its production is still based in China, according to estimates from Evercore.
The CEO managed to help the iPhone avoid another U.S. battle with China.
The United States government is trying to upend global supply chains with China, slapping a tariff rate approaching 150% as of this writing on imports from China into the U.S. Multinational corporations are getting caught in the middle. Apple (AAPL 3.95%) may be the company with the worst exposure.
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Stock futures open Sunday night at 6 p.m. and I have a not-so-bold prediction that Apple investors will be very happy with jump in Apple‘s (Nasdaq: AAPL) share price.
Apple Inc. got “the best news possible” overnight, according to an analyst, as the Trump administration exempted smartphones and other consumer electronics products from tariffs.
The China tariff risk still remains here. Wall Street may be underestimating the potential impact from tariffs. Investors might also be underestimating the long-term margin potential for the services business.