Morning Report 29 Oct 20: US sharemarkets fell sharply on Wednesday

Big tech companies - Apple (-4.6%), Alphabet (- 5.5%), Amazon (-3.8%) and Facebook (-5.5%) - which are due to report results on Thursday, weighed heavily on indexes. Microsoft shares slid 5.1% after a disappointing forecast. Boeing (- 4.6%) said that it plans to cut 7,000 jobs due to a drop in air travel. But General Electric shares jumped 4.5% after posting a surprise quarterly profit. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) jumped above 40 and hit its highest level since June 15. The Dow Jones index fell by 943 points or 3.4%, closing at session lows. The S&P500 index lost 3.5% and the Nasdaq index was down by 426 points or 3.7%. 

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