This comes in the face of Apple closing some stores in locations such as New York City, Los Angeles, Washington and London as the omicron variant spreads.
Apple took a similar step in the summer of 2020, before the wide availability of vaccines. And when New York and some other cities were reopening, the virus was spreading to the South — including to major GDP-contributing states like Texas and Florida.
Given that Apple’s products are largely luxury items, such a move served as a real-time indicator of consumer demand and foot traffic in stores. Apple shares reacted to these steps, and the broader market saw it as a proxy for the spreading virus. Now investors are once again take their cue from this crucial stock.
Bloomberg
