Tech Roundup: Apple's new products and Chinese tech losses grab investors attention
As the war between Russia and Ukraine continued to weigh on investors minds this week, activity in the tech sector was highlighted by events such as Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) slate of new products and a wild decline among many leading Chinese tech stocks.
With its latest virtual event held at its Apple Park campus, Apple (AAPL) showed off the newest version of the iPhone SE, a new iPad Air running on Apple's (AAPL) M1 processor and a new high-end desktop, Mac Studio, which is being marketed toward content creators. Apple (AAPL) also announced a deal with Major League Baseball to carry two MLB games exclusively on Friday nights on Apple TV+.
Analyst said they anticipate Apple (AAPL) seeing increased interest from consumers for its iPhone SE.
Tech companies continued to cut off business and services to Russia as part of the growing world effort to economically isolate the country for its invasion of Ukraine. Disney (NYSE:DIS) put a halt on its cruise line operations in Russia, as well as content and product licensing and other offerings in the country.
YouTube (NASDAQ:GOOG)
expanded a ban on Russian state media on its platform, and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) said it had seen "isolated" negative impacts from suspending its business in Russia. Separately, Netflix (NFLX) opened the door slightly to the possibility that it could offer a lower-priced subscription option that includes advertisements. The company also raised its subscription rates in the United Kingdom.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) suspended shipments of products to Russia, and also pulled the plug on its Prime Video streaming service in the country. Amazon (AMZN) shares also got a boost when the company announced a 20-for-1 stock split for all shareholders of record as of May 27.
Meanwhile, the Russian embassy in Washington demanded that Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB)
halt the use of "extremist activities" on Facebook after it said it would allow some posts to call for violence toward Russian politicians and soldiers in Ukraine.
Speaking at a conference in Dubai, Meta (FB) Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg waded into the Ukrainian war matter by saying that "no two women-run countries would ever go to war."
Russia also fired back at Meta (FB) by restricting access to the company's Instagram platform.
Chinese tech stocks ended the week on downward slide after the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday warned that five Chinese companies are at risk of having their shares de-listed from U.S. stock markets. The SEC said the companies have failed to adhere to regulations that require them to allow U.S. officials to review their company audits for three-straight years.
China's largest ride-sharing company, DiDi Global (NYSE:DIDI) took one of the week's worst beatings, as its shares plunged by more than 40% on Friday. DiDi's (DIDI) decline was the result of reaction to Chinese regulators saying the company wouldn't be allowed to follow through with its plans to move its stock's listing from New York to Hong Kong.