U.S. stocks open sharply lower following global rout

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Friday as a broad-based heavy sell-off around the world rattled nervous investors.

China stocks continued to slump on Friday after the release of weak economic data, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunging 4.27 percent to close at 3,507.74 points.

The Caixin Flash China General Manufacturing PMI retreated to 47.1 in August from 47.8 in July, the lowest point since March 2009.

For the week, the Shanghai Composite Index has plummeted more than 11 percent, the sharpest weekly drop since the week ending July 3.

European equities also traded sharply lower Friday following previous session' s plunge, as traders were spooked by worse-than-expected Chinese economic data and a new election in Greece.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks suffered big losses amid mixed economic reports, with the Dow below the round-number milestone of 17,000 for the first time since October 2014, as worries about a slowdown in global growth weighed on Wall Street sentiment.

Meanwhile, investors were still pondering over the ongoing uncertainty about the timing of a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Market analysts widely see September or even later as the most likely time for a Fed rate increase, which also dampened investor enthusiasm.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 165.76 points, or 0.98 percent, to 16,824.93. The S&P 500 dropped 20.07 points, or 0.99 percent, to 2,015.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 79.52 points, or 1.63 percent, to 4,797.97. Endi