Markets slide overnight as commodities and Apple weigh

Markets in the US and Asia moved lower overnight as expectations of a weak update from Apple hit technology shares, while tumbling commodity prices impacted mining stocks.

In the US both the Dow and the S&P 500 were off sharply, the Dow closing down 0.9% at 14,618 points, and the S&P 500 shedding 1.4% to close at 1,552. Apple was one of the worst affected stocks after one of its component suppliers announced weak results and prompted concerns the technology giant itself may miss forecasts next week. The stock closed down 5.5% at $402.8, it's lowest close since December 2011, while the concerns spread to other technology groups, adding to a broad-based sell-off. The falls exacerbate losses seen earlier in the week, with more and more investors using f...