1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks open sharply lower amid global rout

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Friday, as a heavy sell-off in Asian and European markets and a plunge in oil prices rattled nervous investors.

Shortly after the opening, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 306.67 points, or 1.87 percent, to 16,072.38. The S&P 500 shed 33.58 points, or 1.75 percent, to 1,888.26. The Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 141.00 points, or 3.06 percent, to 4,474.00.

Chinese shares plummeted on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index going below 2,900 points during afternoon trading. At close, the Shanghai index dived 3.55 percent to 2,900.97 points.

European equities also traded sharply lower, weighed by deep losses in Asian stocks and sharp declines in commodities prices.

Adding to the pessimism in the market, oil prices plunged further on Friday, with both the U.S. oil and the Brent crude diving about 4 percent to trade below 30 U.S. dollars a barrel early Friday.

The U.S. economic data also came out negative. The Commerce Department announced Friday that advance estimates of retail and food services sales for December decreased 0.1 percent from the previous month to 448.1 billion dollars, missing market expectations.

The Producer Price Index for final demand decreased 0.2 percent in December after seasonal adjustment, the Labor Department said Friday.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks rebounded strongly as Wall Street cheered over positive earnings and a rebound in oil prices. Endi