Apples shares tumbled in after-hours trade and those listed in Frankfurt (F: AAPL ) were down 8.6 percent in early European deals. The news sparked a 'flash crash' in holiday-thinned currency markets as growing concerns about the health of the global economy, particularly in China, sent investors scurrying into the safe-haven of the Japanese yen, which was poised for its biggest daily rise in 20 months. Apple's warning came after data earlier this week showed a deceleration in factory activity in China and the euro zone, indicating the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China was taking a toll on global manufacturing. Major European bourses were firmly in negative territory by midmorning - Frankfurt's DAX ( GDAXI ), with its exposure to Chinese trade and tech-heavy constituents, was the biggest faller and down as much as 1.2 percent, while Paris' CAC40 ( FCHI ) dropped 1.1 percent and London ( FTSE ) eased 0.4 percent.