SAN FRANCISCO — Apple shares helped lead the stock market on a steep dive Monday morning, but the tech giant made a partial recovery after CEO Tim Cook assured a popular Wall Street commentator that his company is doing well in China.
“I get updates on our performance in China every day, including this morning, and I can tell you that we have continued to experience strong growth for our business in China through July and August,” Cook wrote in an e-mail to CNBC’s Jim Cramer, who shared the message with his audience as Apple’s stock plummeted more than 13 percent Monday morning.
That plunge erased more than $75 billion in Apple’s market value, which started the day at about $602.8 billion.
Apple and other U.S. tech stocks were rocked Monday by continued worries over China’s economy. Apple says the region it calls “Greater China,” which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, is its second-largest market — producing more than a quarter of its sales and its biggest share of growth last quarter.
The company rarely comments on its stock performance, outside of quarterly earnings reports, as Cook acknowledged in his e-mail to Cramer. But he said he knew that questions about China are “on the minds of many investors.”
An Apple spokeswoman declined comment on the e-mail except to confirm its authenticity.
After closing on Friday at $105.76, Apple shares plunged early Monday to a low of $92, then soared as high as $108.80 before closing at $103.12.
