It's that time of year again!
Tech giant Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is poised to make 'Appleheads' and tech fans wild again at its biggest event of the year, as it is set to unveil not just one new version of its ubiquitous iPhone, but three!
But the event at its HQ in Cupertino, California today, is not just going to be about handsets.
Also expected are big updates to the Apple Watch and other new accessories. Apple has now passed the US$1 trillion market cap now, and analysts will also be interested to see what sort of price hikes will accompany the new products.Apple expected to unveil bigger, pricier iPhone as part of lineup of three new models aimed at widening handset's appeal amid slowing sales growth. https://t.co/qYa7f3HP6v pic.twitter.com/Ue4RLZKbNr
— ABC News (@ABC) 12 September 2018
The event is scheduled to begin at 10 am US Pacific time, 1pm Eastern time (ET), 5pm London time, and 1am Hong Kong time and Apple (how could it not really) will stream the event live.
Also in tech news, Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) shares shed around 4% before the New York bell to stand at US$41.84.
It comes after broker heavyweight Goldman Sachs lowered its rating on the chipmaker to 'neutral' from 'buy' and cut the price target to US$50 a share.
In other significant pre-market news, Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) and partner Galapagos NV (EPA:GLPG) saw shares rise today on the back of positive clinical trial news concerning filgotinib, which is used to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
The significant results from the late-stage FINCH 2 study builds upon previous positive data, the firm said.
It is estimated that the rheumatoid arthritis market could reach US$30.4bn by 2025.
Elsewhere, Bausch Health Cos Inc (NYSE:BHC) saw shares shoot up over 8% in pre-market after it reached an agreement in a patent dispute over 550 mg tables of Xifaxan - for irritable bowel syndrome.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares nudged 0.29% to US$1,992.98 ahead of the bell. The retail behemoth has been in the news in recent hours, not least due to its new foray into the sale of real Christmas trees.
Amazon plans to sell and ship fresh, full-size Christmas trees for 2018, despite one association estimating that only up to 2% of the 27mln real Christmas trees purchased last year were bought online. Amazon though has form, when it comes to changing shopping habits.