Weaker than expected US manufacturing data and a downgrade from Apple Inc after the close of the previous session dragged US equity markets sharply lower. The Dow tumbled -660-points or -2.83%. Delta Air Lines Inc fell -10% after the US carrier warned fourth quarter unit revenue would be slightly below its prior forecast due to the lower than expected improvement in last-minute fares booked by travelers. The broader S&P500 -2.48%, with Information Technology (down -5.07%) leading the sector declines. Real Estate (up +0.49%) and Utilities (+0.08%) were the only primary sectors to advance. The techology-centric NASDAQ snapped a five session winning streak down -3.04%, with Apple Inc slumping -9.96% - or ~5% of Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) - after the company cut its quarterly revenue forecast for the first time in more than 15 years after the close of Wednesday's (2 December) session and citing signs of weakness in China. Apple now expects revenue for its fiscal first quarter to be as much as US$9B lower than previous projections. Apple closed at its lowest level since July 2017 (US$142.19) and recorded its worst single session fall since January 2013. The latest fall left Apple as the fourth largest company in the US behind Microsoft Inc, Amazon Inc and Google parent Alphabet Inc. , pushing the technology giant's market capitalisation below
