KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 3): Inari Amertron Bhd, along with other technology stocks, took a nosedive this morning, no thanks to the profit warning from Apple Inc, which is one of the company's clients.

The stock opened at RM1.35 this morning, 12 sen lower than yesterday's close of RM1.47, indicating the fierce selling on the semiconductor firm amidst fears of gloomy earnings outlook.

It plunged to a one-year low of RM1.27 as at 11.15am, some 50% below its record high of RM2.53 on Aug 9 last year.

Some 42.35 million shares were traded in less than three hours after the opening bell, making Inari the third most actively traded counter and fifth largest decliner on Bursa Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Globetronics Technology Bhd also took a beating, declining 15 sen or 8.72% to RM1.57 from RM1.72 a day ago. The counter had opened 8 sen lower at RM1.64.

Both Inari and Globetronics, along with other semiconductor manufacturers such as KESM Industries Bhd and ViTrox Corp Bhd, dragged the Bursa Malaysia Technology Index down 0.85 points or 2.94% in early trade today.

The tech index was the worst performer on Bursa this morning.

US-based Apple surprised investors by lowering its revenue guidance to US$84 billion from US$93 billion for the quarter ended Dec 29, citing weaker demand from China, fewer upgrades of iPhone models and supply constraints in the production of its newer products.

It is the first time Apple has cut predictions almost two decades, Bloomberg reported.