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U.S. stocks open lower as oil keeps sliding

Xinhua, December 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, after a sharp decline in oil prices, as weak commodities prices continued to weigh on Wall Street.

The West Texas Intermediate for January delivery shed about 2 percent in the early trading Tuesday, while Brent crude dropped over 2 percent.

Oil prices closed near seven-year lows Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided Friday to keep crude production pumping at current level in the already oversupplied market.

"Crude oil fell to a new seven-year low yesterday, proving once again 'temporary' and 'transitory' can take longer to play out than anyone anticipates," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial on Tuesday.

In Asia markets, Tokyo shares ended trading Tuesday lower as concerns over plunging oil prices in the global market shadowed the buoyant sentiment brought by positive revised Japan's July-September gross domestic product data.

China's stocks also closed lower on Tuesday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 1.89 percent to close at 3,470.07 points.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 202.87 points, or 1.14 percent, to 17,527.64. The S&P 500 lost 21.42 points, or 1.03 percent, to 2,055.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 47.29 points, or 0.93 percent, to 5,054.52.

U.S. stocks fell Monday after Friday's big rally, dragged down by a sharp decline in energy as oil prices hit a near-seven-year low. Endi