Shares in Apple have dipped below $500 for the first time in almost one year after it was reported that it is slashing orders for screens and other components from its Asian supplier as intensifying competition erodes demand for its latest iPhone.

Japan's Nikkei reported on Monday that the world's largest technology corporation began sharply reducing buying of liquid crystal displays about a month ago from suppliers like Japan Display and Sharp. Dogged by low production yields, Sharp last year fell behind schedule for iPhone 5 screen shipments in the run-up to the phone's launch in September. Sharp has yet to acknowledge that Apple is a customer.

Reuters