HK Stock Market Move | COWELL (01415) fell more than 6%, leading the decline in Apple concept stocks. Apple's sales in China recorded the largest drop in 24 years.

Apple concept stocks fell during the trading day. As of press time, COWELL (01415) fell by 6.21% to HK$26.45; AAC TECH (02018) fell by 2.64% to HK$35.05; Q TECH (01478) fell by 1.74% to HK$6.21; SUNNY OPTICAL (02382) fell by 1.5% to HK$62.25. On the news front, according to the latest data disclosed by Canalys, in 2024, Apple lost its position as the largest smartphone seller in China, with local competitors Huawei and Vivo surpassing Apple in market share. Last year, Apple saw its largest year-on-year sales decline in China since records began, with declines in all four quarters, including a steep 25% drop in the last quarter. Vivo's market share reached 17% for the whole year, ranking first, Huawei's market share reached 16%, and Apple only reached 15%, reflecting the increased competition pressure Apple faces from local brands in the Chinese market. The market share contraction also reflects the latest iPhones in China lacking artificial intelligence features, such as not being able to use ChatGPT, which could impact the competitiveness of Apple's products. Zhong Yin International released a research report pointing out that driven by Chinese promotional activities, new model releases, and "trade-in old for new" activities, global smartphone shipments in the fourth quarter of 2024 increased by 2.4% year-on-year to 332 million units. In terms of brand performance, Xiaomi and Vivo outperformed their peers in the fourth quarter, with shipments increasing by 4.8% and 12.7% year-on-year respectively. As for Apple and Samsung, their shipments dropped by 4.1% and 2.7% respectively year-on-year, leading to a decline in market share.