IT Giants Big 5 Lose 384 Trillion Won in Market Cap in One Day... Apple Plummets 7.9%

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Due to the Black Monday triggered by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the combined market capitalization of the global IT giants Big 5, including Apple and Microsoft (MS), evaporated by $320 billion (approximately 384.48 trillion KRW) in a single day on the 9th (local time).

According to US economic broadcaster CNBC, the total market cap loss of the Big 5?Apple, MS, Facebook, Amazon, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google?on the New York Stock Exchange that day was $321.6 billion.

Apple’s stock price closed down 7.9% compared to the previous trading day. In terms of market cap, more than $100 billion was wiped out. MS, which recorded a decline of over 6%, also lost $83.6 billion in market cap. Facebook and Alphabet’s stock prices closed down 6.4% and 6.2%, respectively, while Amazon’s stock price fell 5.3% compared to the previous day.

CNBC described it as "the worst day since the 2008 global financial crisis," attributing it to "the impact of COVID-19 and the sharp drop in oil prices." Amid soaring fears over the virus spread, the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Russia caused oil prices to plunge by over 20%, directly translating into a shock to the financial markets.

Beyond the Big 5, IT stocks in general showed a sharp decline. IT services company DXC experienced a drop of 18%. Western Digital also closed down 13% compared to the previous trading day.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Google restricted external visitors to its US headquarters, Silicon Valley, New York, and some other offices as COVID-19 cases rapidly increased, and recommended remote work to employees in Korea and Japan. Amazon also issued a policy for employees working in Silicon Valley, Seattle, New York, New Jersey, and Italy’s Lombardia and Asti regions to work from home throughout March. The day before, Apple sent a memo encouraging employees in Korea, Japan, Italy, and other locations to work from home this week.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.