Apple shares fall with Jobs medical leave announcement

Shares of Apple Inc. fell modestly today after the company's disclosure that Steve Jobs, the CEO who transformed the niche computer maker into the most-envied consumer-electronics brand today, is taking another medical leave of absence.

Analysts believe the company Jobs shepherded from garage startup to a $65 billion technology trendsetter is in good hands with the current slate of talented executives - even as Apple, now the Silicon Valley player to beat, faces increasing competition from Google Inc. and others.

Investors appeared to agree. Although shares fell nearly 7 percent in Frankfurt Monday, when markets in the U.S. were closed, Apple lost only $7.17, or 2 percent, to $341.31 in midday trading today. Earlier today, stock traded as low as $326.

In the last decade, Jobs, 55, has survived a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer and undergone a liver transplant. The news that he will again step back from his day-to-day role raises serious questions about the CEO's health.