US: Stocks open lower

New York

Wall Street stocks dropped in early trade on Thursday, pulling back from the prior day's strong rally as weak economic data from Germany heightened concerns about poor overseas growth.

About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 16,912.72, down 81.50 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 9.75 to 1,959.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 25.43 at 4,443.16.

Germany suffered a massive 5.8 per cent drop in exports in August, while imports dipped by 1.3 percent, official data showed. Leading German think tanks also slashed their growth forecasts for the eurozone's largest economy.

While US economic data has generally improved, traders are worrying about a slowdown in Europe and Asia that is weighing on the global economy.

-AFP