Apple sells 2M iPhone 5s in China in first 3 days

NEW YORK (AP) - Apple said Monday that it sold more than 2 million iPhone 5s in China in their first three days of availability, setting a record for that market.

IPhone 5, which launched in China on Friday, will be available in more than 100 countries by the end of December.

The phone first went on sale on Sept. 21 in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan and five other countries, with more than 5 million of the phones sold in the first three days.

That sales tally also set a record, but only beat last year’s iPhone 4S launch by a small margin, falling short of some analysts’ expectations. Apple shares hit an all-time high of $705.07 that day, but in the months since the stock has plunged about 26 percent.

Also on Sunday, Citi analyst Glen Yeung cut his rating for the Cupertino, Calif.-based company to “Neutral” from “Buy,” questioning the strength of iPhone 5 demand and saying that it’s unlikely Apple shares will rally any time soon.

Apple Inc. shares rose $9.04, or 1.8 percent, to close at $518.83 Monday.

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