Nasdaq down 200 points as technology shares fall sharply

With tech-giants suffering heavy losses on Monday, major equity indexes in the U.S. fall sharply. As of writing, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, which lost as many as 200 points, was down 186.7 points, or 2.7%, on the day at 6,681.57 points while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 386 points, or 1.5%, and the S&P 500 was erasing 40 points, or 1.45%. 

Apple's dismal sales outlook continues to weigh on iPhone maker's shares and hurt its suppliers. At the moment, Apple stocks are down nearly 3.5% on the day and the S&P 500 Technology Index is losing 3.2%. Commenting on technology sector's disappointing performance ahead of the holiday season, "Chip stocks will get impacted by Apple and when you have weakness, it essentially justifies the recent selloff and investors are just being a little cautious," Randy Frederick, vice-president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, told Reuters.

Moreover, other members of the so-called FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) are also recording losses between 1% and 3% in the session to reflect the weak sentiment surrounding the sector. Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, is up nearly 15% on the day. At the time of press, every major sector, except the S&P 500 Utilities, were in the negative territory.