Apple shares down after Jobs' reversal on health

(CUPERTINO, Calif.) Shares of Apple Inc. fell 4 percent Thursday as investors struggled to parse the latest disclosure from CEO Steve Jobs about his health and his need to go on leave until the end of June.

The 53-year-old Apple co-founder, a survivor of pancreatic cancer who appeared gaunt last year, said Wednesday after the stock market closed that he is stepping away from his daily duties because his health problems have become "more complex." Apple's chief operating officer, Tim Cook, will take over.

In contrast, as recently as Jan. 5, Jobs tried to assure investors and employees that he had discovered his weight loss was caused by a treatable hormone deficiency. In that statement, he said he had begun a "relatively simple and straightforward" treatment and insisted he would remain at Apple's helm.

Jobs' reversal sent Apple shares sliding to one-year lows in extended trading Wednesday, but by Thursday morning they had recovered slightly, and were down $3.49, 4.1 percent, at $81.84.

Apple's stock has surged and tumbled over the last year in step with rumors or news about the CEO's condition. While the top executive's health is an issue for investors in any company, at Apple the concern reaches fever pitch because Jobs has a hand in everything from ideas for new products to the way they're marketed.

Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976 at the dawn of the personal computer revolution. He was forced from the company in 1985 but returned as CEO in 1997, slashing unprofitable product lines and helping rescue the company from financial ruin.