CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 12: The new iPhone 15 Pro is showcased during Apple's event at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park on September 12, 2023 in Cupertino, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Good pictures
Another major Apple supplier Han Hai Technology Group, also known as Foxconn, fell 1.33%. Taiwan-based Foxconn is the world's largest contract electronics maker and assembles Apple's iPhones.
Technology and chip stocks including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix fell more than 2%, while LG Electronics fell 1.78% and dragged South Korea's Kospi down 1.85%.
“Suppliers are still seeing strong growth in the iPhone 15. We're in the midst of a supercycle,” Ray Wang of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Research said on CNBC's “Street Science Asia.”
“Another 200 to 300 million iPhones have been switched to 5G, at least for the next 24 months, so I don't know if the quality of growth will drop, but based on the estimate, I can understand that it will succeed.” Wang told CNBC on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Barclays downgraded Apple's stock to underweight and cut its price target to $160 from $161, citing weak iPhone 15 sales and lower demand for the iPhone 16 and other products. Apple shares fell 3.58% on Tuesday.
“We still see weakness in iPhone volumes and mix, as well as a lack of bounce-back in Macs, iPads and wearables,” analyst Tim Long said in a note to clients on Tuesday.
In a Jan. 3 report, UBS said DSMC is “poised for a strong rebound in 2024” and maintained a buy rating despite cutting its price target to NT$750 from NT$760.
“We think DSMC is in a sweet spot for growth over the next 18 months from its highest share in 4-nanometer and 3-nanometer and is positioned to benefit from any rise in edge AI that leverages the leverage to build cloud AI and the larger endpoint markets. PC, smartphone and IoT,” UPS said.
— CNBC's Shreyashi Sanyal contributed to this report.
