U.S. stocks open lower after heavy sell-off

NEW YORK, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Monday as investor sentiment was still dented by Friday's heavy sell-off.

On Friday, U.S. stocks plunged, with the Dow slumping over 650 points, as investors worried that the Federal Reserve may hike rates on a faster pace after the upbeat jobs report.

U.S. total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 200,000 in January, and the unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 4.1 percent, stronger than market expectations, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Average hourly earnings posted a 0.3 percent gain for the month and an annualized gain of 2.9 percent.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said Friday that the employment report checks all the boxes for the Fed: a good combination of strong growth and price data.

"At the moment, a March rate hike is all but a lock with markets placing over 90 percent probability. As long as financial conditions remain benign and there is no material change in the trend in the data, March rate hike looks to be a go," said the bank in a report.

Analysts said the market is now thinking about the possibility of the Fed raising interest rates four times this year, which continued to weigh on the market on Monday.

On the economic front, the ISM non-manufacturing index is scheduled for release later in the morning.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 282.08 points, or 1.11 percent, to 25,238.88. The S&P 500 decreased 23.01 points, or 0.83 percent, to 2,739.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 68.36 points, or 0.94 percent, to 7,172.59. Enditem