U.S. stocks open lower as global equities fall

NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday as market sentiment was dented by a global woe in equities.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 15.77 points, or 0.07 percent, to 24,164.87. The S&P 500 decreased 9.87 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,629.57. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 18.45 points, or 0.27 percent, to 6,743.77.

European stocks fell broadly on Wednesday, with German Dax and the French CAC 40 index falling more than 0.5 percent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index both dropped 2 percent. The Shanghai composite also fell 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, investors have kept an eye on the progress of the U.S. tax reform.

The U.S. Senate on Saturday morning passed the Republican bill to overhaul the tax code in decades, moving one step closer to the first major legislative victory of the Trump administration and congressional Republicans.

Analysts said that market sentiment has been boosted by the prospect of the tax bill, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to record highs earlier this week. Enditem