Monday saw a horrible session on Wall Street, as major indexes suffered substantial losses ranging from 2.4% to 3.4%. Investors were spooked by the prospects for an all-out trade war between China and the U.S., with China firing the most recent shot by announcing prospective tariffs on another $60 billion in U.S. goods. The market swoon sent most stocks lower, but a few stood out for the size of their drops and what they mean for the broader economy. Apple (AAPL 1.68%), Uber Technologies (UBER 1.39%), and E.W. Scripps (SSP 6.63%) were three of the most noteworthy decliners. Here's why they did so poorly.
Apple takes a double hit
Shares of Apple dropped 6% after the tech giant got a double dose of bad news. First, with China representing a key growth market for the company, Apple stands to be one of the biggest potential targets if trade tensions escalate further. That's been a big contributing factor to the stock's drop over the past week, but also affecting Apple today was a Supreme Court decision that allowed iPhone users to move forward with antitrust litigation concerning allegations of price-fixing in the App Store. The company had argued that only developers who pay commissions should be able to sue, but the court ruled 5-4 that Apple's argument didn't apply to the direct relationship between the tech giant and its device owners.
Image source: Apple.
Uber drives lower
Uber Technologies suffered further losses in its second day of trading as a public company, as its stock fell 10%. Investors were disappointed with the lackluster reception that the ridesharing service's shares got in its IPO on Friday, and as the overall market dropped, high-growth stocks that are currently losing substantial amounts of money seemed to be among the biggest targets of sellers. It's far too early to predict the demise of Uber, especially given the potential for it to be a major player in autonomous vehicle development, as well as adjacent industries like food delivery. For now, though, investors are forcing the company to prove itself from a business standpoint before the stock can climb.
Scripps keeps falling
Finally, shares of E.W. Scripps plunged 18.5%. The independent TV station owner and media company kept losing ground following the release of its first-quarter financial results on Friday, which had sent the stock lower by almost 7% despite higher revenue and a narrower loss than in the prior-year period. Scripps argued that its local television stations should thrive as the run-up to the 2020 presidential election starts to lead to greater political advertising spending, and it highlighted the national networks that it's put together, including the Newsy news service. Yet investors don't seem entirely comfortable that the company is living up to its full potential, especially with broader markets on the move lower.
