Apple teeters on $1 trillion threshold after late Friday slump

Apple is dangerously close to its market cap falling below the $1 trillion threshold after a late Friday slump to end the week's trading.

Across the world and in all markets, the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter stock prices left right and center. The only clear theme of market performance at the moment seems to be unpredictability and volatility. In the course of this month, Apple's stock has endured a rollercoaster, recording its biggest single-day move in 11 years at the start of March. Whilst Apple has also seen bouts of recovery, the stock price as a whole, like the rest of the market is shrinking rapidly.

Apple closed on Friday at $229.24, down 6.35% on the day's opening price. It looked to be a relatively more stable day compared to recent performance, however, in the last two hours of trading its share price tumbled nearly $20.

That means that Apple is now trading at its lowest price since early October 2019. It also means that for the first time, in several months, Apple's market cap may fall below the $1 trillion threshold.

It's important to understand this in the wider context of the market. Companies such as Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and the S&P 500 as a whole are all feeling the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. It does, however, signal that even the world's largest companies are not safe in the current climate and that all businesses should be taking note.

Apple's stock price fell a further 0.54% in after-hours. If it opens at a similar price, Monday may indeed mark the date Apple dips below its trillion-dollar valuation.