US stocks fall as euro hits 9-year low

New York - US stocks on Monday opened sharply lower as renewed concerns about the eurozone sent the euro to a nine-year low.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17 744.43, down 88.56 points (0.50%).
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 11.54 (0.56%) to 2 046.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 25.03 (0.53%) to 4 701.78.

Equity markets in Britain, France and Germany were all sharply lower as traders looked ahead to a 25 January election in Greece that some analysts think could result in a Greek exit from the eurozone.

The euro also fell on speculation the European Central Bank could soon enact more stimulus to try to lift the weak 19-nation eurozone economy.

Oil prices retreated again early on Monday, unsettling markets on the "possibility that there could be some latent financial, or economic, risk in the plummeting price of" crude, said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.