US: Walls St opens lower on China, N.Korea worries

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday after China allowed its currency to weaken further and oil prices slid to their lowest in more than 11 years.

Geopolitical concerns were also heightened after North Korea said it had tested a hydrogen bomb and Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 159.84 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 16,998.82, the S&P 500 19.19 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 1,997.52 and the Nasdaq Composite 73.90 points, or 1.51 per cent, to 4,817.53.

REUTERS