US open: Wall Street trading opens with losses as global growth concerns surface
US stocks moved sharply lower on Thursday as investors continued to keep a close eye on trade developments between the US and China, with the European Central Bank rate announcement and the latest jobless claims also in focus.
At 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.86% lower at 25,453.18, while the S&P 500 was down 0.78% at 2,749.93 and the Nasdaq slipped 0.92% to 7,437.19.
The Dow looked set to record its fourth straight day of losses as it sunk 220 points at the open as relations between the US and China were still firmly in focus as Chinese tech company Huawei filed a lawsuit against the US government over a ban that restricts federal agencies from using its products.
Donald Trump said on Wednesday that trade talks between the two nations were moving along well.
According to Reuters, Trump said during a meeting in the Oval Office that there would either be "a good deal or it's not going to be a deal, but I think they're moving along very nicely".
Investors were also mulling over news that the European Central Bank unexpectedly went ahead and unveiled a new round of cheap loans for the bloc's lenders and pushed back its so-called 'forward guidance', taking the possibility of interest rate hikes in 2019 off the table.
In corporate news, Burlington Stores shares slumped 9.94% in early trade after the release of the retailer's fourth-quarter numbers, as earnings topped expectations but sales were a miss.
H&R Block shares picked up 2.85% at the bell despite seeing pre-tax losses widen on the back of lower revenues.
Costco earnings were set to come after the close.
On the data front, initial unemployment claims in the US dipped last week, alongside a further decline in the number of people in longer-term unemployment.
For the week ended 2 March, jobless claims slipped by 3,000 to 223,000, according to the Department of Labor.
Economists had been expecting an unchanged reading of 225,000.
The four-week moving average meanwhile was down by 3,000 to 226,250.
Secondary unemployment claims meanwhile, those which are not filed for the first time and referencing the week ending on 23 February, fell by 50,000 to 1.755m.