Shares of Apple Inc.
AAPL,
dropped 1.4% in morning trading Monday, after The Wall Street Journal reported the technology giant was set to halt Apple Watch sales in a preemptive move to comply with a U.S. import ban regarding use of blood-oxygen sensors. The ban, which would include the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, comes after the U.S. International Trade Commission found that Apple violated patents in most new models of its smartwatches since 2020, the WSJ report said. The sales halt comes even as Apple said it strongly disagrees with the finding, and that it is pursuing legal options, the report said. Apple’s stock, which has eased 1.6% since closing at a record $198.11 on Dec. 14, has run up 50% year to date while the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
has rallied 41.8% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
has gained 12.5%.