The sudden medical leave announced by Apple CEO Steve Jobs this morning is already having an effect on stock trading, according to Reuters. The agency reports that Apple shares fell 7.5 percent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by 2:38PM GMT; futures on the S&P 500 SPc1 and the NASDAQ NDc have slipped 0.3 and 0.9 percent, respectively. The impact of the announcement has been muted by Apple's decision to make it on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, when US markets are closed.
