NEW YORK, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, ringing in the new year with all the three major indices turning red amid broad concerns over weakening global growth.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 366.57 points, or 1.57 percent, to 23,058.61. The S&P 500 slumped 35.92 points, or 1.43 percent, to 2,476.9. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 109.42 points, or 1.65 percent, to 6,506.91.
Shares of Tesla fell more than 8 percent, leading the laggards, after it reportedly left over 3,000 Model 3s in inventory in the United States by Sunday. The electric vehicle giant announced it delivered 90,700 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2018, weaker than market expectations.
Shares of Netflix also dwindled more than 3 percent after analysts said the media services provider saw declining subscriber growth in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to CNBC.
All the 11 primary S&P sectors suffered losses following Monday's comprehensive gains, with the real estate sector down nearly 2 percent, leading the laggards.
European and Asian stock markets also opened on a downbeat note on Wednesday, with the pan-European STOXX Europe 600 Index continued to fall 0.33 percent to 331.97 following the 13.2 percent dramatic loss on the last trading day of 2018.
The index, covering a fixed number of 600 components among 17 European countries, was partly dragged by France's diminishing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which fell 1.4 percent in December for the first time in two years.
Shares in Asia were also mostly lower on the first trading day of 2019 amid lingering fears of slowing economic activities in the new year, with major indexes all in red, including the NIKKEI, ASX 200, the Shanghai Composite and HSI.
Investors have also kept a close eye on the health of U.S. economy as they are waiting for ADP's private sector job data for December set to be released on Thursday and the official December employment report of U.S. government scheduled for Friday.
Following solid gains throughout Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 265.06 points, or 1.15 percent, to 23327.46. The S&P 500 was up 21.11 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2506.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 50.76 points, or 0.77 percent, to 6635.28.
All the three major stock indexes recorded their worst annual performances for over a decade, with the Dow and S&P 500 sinking 5.6 percent and 6.2 percent respectively for 2018. Enditem
