GLOBAL MARKETS-Apple hits stocks, euro near three-year low

* Apple will miss quarterly revenue target due to
coronavirus
* European stocks seen falling 0.5-0.6%
* S&P500 futures down 0.35%
* Australian dollar falls; gold, U.S. bonds gain
* Euro near three-year low before German ZEW data
*

By Marc Jones
LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - World stocks markets were knocked
off record highs on Tuesday as two of the world's mega companies
reported damage from the coronavirus outbreak.
Apple's stock fell almost 6% in Frankfurt and all Europe's
main markets fell .EU after the iPhone maker warned it was
unlikely to meet the March quarter sales guidance it had set
just three weeks ago. HSBC announced a massive restructuring that involved
shedding $100 billion of assets and slashing 35,000 jobs over
three years. It also warned about the impact of the coronavirus
on its Asia business. The stock fell more than 2% in Hong Kong
trade.
"We have been pointing out that the market reaction in past
weeks was excessively constructive and this could be a wake-up
call to all investors that ignored so far potential negative
impact," analysts at UniCredit said.
The warning from Apple sobered investors who had hoped
stimulus from China and other countries would protect the global
economy from the effects of the epidemic.
Europe's 0.4% to 0.5% .STOXX declines came after Tokyo's
Nikkei .N225 dropped 1.4% as tech stocks globally reacted to
Apple's warning. China's CSI300 .CSI300 gave up 0.5% after
gaining on Monday, encouraged by a central bank rate cut and
government stimulus hopes. .T .SS
S&P 500 e-mini futures ESc1 slipped 0.4% and Nasdaq
futures NQcv1 fell 0.6%.
Bonds were in demand, with the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield
falling 4 basis point to just above 1.5% US10YT=RR . Safe-haven
gold XAU= rose to its highest in two weeks and oil prices fell
nearly 2% after five days of gains. O/R
The yen rose 0.15% to 109.69 yen per dollar JPY= while the
risk- and China-sensitive Australian dollar lost 0.4% to $0.6686
AUD=D4 . The yuan was steadier, trading at 6.9950 per dollar
CNY=CFXS .
The euro was near a three-year low versus the dollar at
$1.0830 EUR= , before Germany's ZEW survey, which is expected
to fuel growing pessimism about Europe's largest economy. /FRX
Also hurting market sentiment were a reports that U.S.
President Donald Trump's administration was considering changing
regulations to allow it to block shipments of chips to China's
Huawei HWT.UL from companies such as Taiwan's Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract
chipmaker. TO SELL
TSMC 2330.TW lost 2.9%. Samsung Electronics 005930.KS
dropped 2.9% and Sony Corp 6758.T shed 2.5% after the Apple
coronavirus warning. The number of new coronavirus cases in mainland China fell
below 2,000 for the first time since January, but the virus
remains far from contained. The death toll in China has climbed
to 1,868, the National Health Commission said, and the World
Health Organization said "every scenario is still on the table"
in terms of the epidemic's evolution. As China's authorities try to prevent the spread of the
disease, the economy is paying a heavy price. Some cities remain
locked down, streets are deserted, and travel bans and
quarantine orders are preventing migrant workers from getting
back to their jobs.
Many factories have yet to re-open, disrupting supply chains
in China and beyond, as highlighted by Apple.
"Apple is saying its recovery could be delayed, which could
mean the impact of the virus may go beyond the current quarter,"
said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi
UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
"If Apple shares were traded cheaply, that might not matter
much. But when they are trading at a record high, investors will
be surely tempted to sell."

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