US: Wall St opens sharply lower on China woes, oil

US stocks opened sharply lower for the second straight day on Thursday after China allowed the yuan to decline further and oil prices slumped to near 12-year lows, raising concerns over the state of the global economy. 

PHOTO: AFP

JAN 7, 201610:39 PM

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened sharply lower for the second straight day on Thursday after China allowed the yuan to decline further and oil prices slumped to near 12-year lows, raising concerns over the state of the global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 189.94 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 16,716.57, the S&P 500 lost 21.6 points, or 1.09 per cent, to 1,968.66 and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 103.30 points, or 2.14 per cent, to 4,732.46.

REUTERS