New York - Wall St stocks opened sharply lower Monday, following many international equity markets downward as a busy week of US economic reporting got underway.
Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16 944.58, down 168.57 points (0.99%).
The broad-based S&P 500 sank 18.27 (0.92%) to 1 964.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 44.70 (0.99%) to 4 467.49.
Hong Kong's market tumbled 1.90% as pro-democracy demonstrations closed parts of the city. Markets in Britain, France and Germany fell as the euro dipped to a two-year low.
In the US, consumer spending, the main engine of the US economy, rose 0.5% in August, while personal income increased 0.3%.
Major reports later this week include the Conference Board's report on US consumer confidence in September and the monthly Labor Department jobs report, also for September.