Donald Trump is prepared to force American companies to pull out of China and has the legal authority to do so, two White House officials suggested on Sunday.

Larry Kudlow, Mr Trump's economic director, told CNN that the president "do[es] have that authority", although he added that it was "not going to be exercised presently".

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also told Fox News that the president has "lots of options" for prosecuting his trade war with China and that the media should take what he says "very literally".

Shares in Apple, which builds most its iPhones in China, and a number of chipmakers including Intel and Broadcom, tumbled on Friday after Mr Trump tweeted that he "hereby ordered" US companies to bring their supply chains "home".

Mr Trump later said that he had "the absolute right" to do that under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law passed in 1977 allowing the president to regulate international commerce.