Apple clears fresh antitrust hurdle in India, shares trade firm on NASDAQ

By Anna Wagner, Analysts & Consensus desk. Reviewed prior to publication on 2026-06-29, 20:29.

Apple (US0378331005) is back in the regulatory spotlight as it challenges draft antitrust findings in India while its shares trade firmly on NASDAQ alongside a stronger Nasdaq 100 index today. The company has accused India's competition regulator of repeating rivals' claims, according to a Reuters report.

What Reuters reports from India

Reuters reported that Apple has formally responded to a draft order from India's Competition Commission (CCI) that alleged the company's App Store rules are anti-competitive, citing unnamed sources familiar with the proceedings. The Reuters piece on Apple's India antitrust response stated that Apple argued the draft "copy-pasted" complaints from rivals without sufficient independent assessment.

The investigation in India focuses on Apple's App Store policies, including commission structures and requirements that developers use Apple-controlled payment mechanisms for in-app purchases. According to Reuters, the CCI's draft findings have not yet been made public, and the case remains at an interim stage, with Apple seeking to influence the final outcome by challenging the current assessment.

Regulation context and sector peers

Antitrust questions around app store rules are not new for large tech platforms, with Alphabet's Google facing separate investigations and penalties in India over Android and Play Store practices in recent years. Apple has faced similar scrutiny in the European Union, where the EU's Digital Markets Act now forces changes to App Store and payment policies and has already led to enforcement steps involving Apple's music-streaming rules relative to Spotify. A Financial Times analysis of EU actions on Apple and app stores highlighted the broader regulatory push to curb perceived gatekeeper power.

While India is a smaller revenue contributor than the Americas and Europe for Apple, the country has strategic importance as a growth market and a manufacturing base. Apple's regulatory stance there is closely watched because it could inform how the company argues similar cases elsewhere, and investors often compare regulatory risks across the tech sector, especially with peers such as Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft that also run large platforms.

The product behind the stock

Apple makes most of its revenue from the iPhone line of smartphones, complemented by services such as the App Store, iCloud and Apple Music. The iPhone 15 family, introduced in 2023, remains the core hardware driver alongside wearables like Apple Watch and AirPods, which deepen the ecosystem around iOS and Mac devices.

Where the stock trades today

Apple shares last traded around 210.50 USD on NASDAQ as of 2026-06-29, 20:20, according to recent market data from a NASDAQ quote page and investor-facing price services.

This article was produced with AI assistance and editorially reviewed. Price and company figures without guarantee; prices and dates may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions carry risks up to and including total loss.