US stocks sink as China worries mount

New York - US stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday as poor factory data from China sparked another round of global equity selloffs.

Fifteen minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 275.66 points at 16 252.37.

The broader S&P 500 lost 30.61 points at 1 941.57, and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.28% at 4 715.27.

The new round of market turmoil, which saw major European bourses losing more than 2.5%, came after China's official purchasing managers' index fell to its lowest level in three years in August, and showed the manufacturing sector contracting.

Oil companies led the fall amid a reversal in crude prices following three straight, large gains.

Dow members ExxonMobil lost 3.1% and Chevron 2.3%.

Ford was one of the few gainers among top companies, with the automaker's shares adding 0.8% on solid August sales.