Apple Breaks Below $500

Shares of Apple

dropped below $500 on Tuesday, falling nearly 2 percent to around $489. There appeared to be no fundamental news to account for the drop in Apple. On Monday,

reported that the company had cut orders with its suppliers for the iPhone 5. Several analysts, notably J.P. Morgan and UBS, defended Apple Monday, stating that the WSJ's report constituted old news. Still, that defense failed to allay traders, who continued to sell the tech giant. The drop in Apple was large enough to pull down the Nasdaq, which underperformed the Dow Jones by about 0.30 percent in early trading Tuesday. Facebook

will hold a special event later on Tuesday. It is unknown exactly what the company will announce, although some have speculated that the social networking giant could be planning to enter the smartphone business. If Facebook produced its own phone, it could further pressure Apple, which has seen increasing competition from the likes of Samsung and Nokia

. Shares of Apple traded near $489 on Tuesday.