US equity markets tumbled as investors digested the latest economic projections from the Federal Reserve and the potential for a second wave of coronavirus cases, with the benchmark indices posting their sharpest daily falls since 16 March - Dow plummeted -1,862-points or -6.9%. It was the fourth worst daily points drop for the Dow in history, with the other top three all occurring in March. Boeing Co fell -16.42% after telling its biggest supplier, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc (-15.61%), to freeze a recently restarted production of parts for four 737 MAX and 16 other planes to prevent creating a glut of new jets for airlines adjusting to the slump in demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. The broader S&P500 tumbled -5.89% to book its third consecutive fall of over >1% and first three day losing streak since early March. The index also retreated below its 200-day moving average. It was a broad sell-off, with 504 of the index’s 505 constituents closing in the red. Grocery chain Kroger Co (up +0.40%) was the only index member to eke out a gain. Energy (down -9.45%) and Financials (-8.18%) led all eleven primary sectors lower (with all sectors logging falls of over >3.8%). Trading volumes on the S&P 500 were ~28% above the 30-day moving average. Exxon Mobil Corp fell -8.83%, while JPMorgan Chase & Co dropped -8.34%, Wells Fargo -9.83% and Bank of America -10.04%. Airlines (Delta Air Lines down -14.03%, United Airlines -16.11% and American Airlines Group -15.51%) and cruise lines (Carnival Corp down -15.3% and Royal Caribbean Cruises -14.28%) were also under heavy pressure. The technology-centric NASDAQ lost -5.28% a day after posting a record closing high above >10,000. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 index slumped -7.3%. In merger and acquisition (M&A) developments, Grubhub gained +4.64% after the food delivery platform agreed to be acquired by European delivery giant Just Eat Takeaway.com (down -3.07%) in a US$7.3B all-stock deal.
