U.S. stocks dropped swiftly Wednesday morning, the first day of trading in 2019, amid rising concerns about the global economy and major technology companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down roughly 350 points, a 1.5 percent drop, while the NASDAQ composite and S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
{mosads}Futures markets had predicted a rough opening for U.S. stocks after Asian equities plummeted overnight. Asian markets cratered after the release of disappointing manufacturing data, which showed China’s first reduction in industrial output in two years. European markets also took losses after reports of sagging business investment.
Shares for several U.S. tech giants also fell on reports that Tesla had missed 2018 sales projections and Netflix had fallen short of subscriber goals.
The rough Wednesday open comes after U.S. stocks closed out their worst year since 2008, the start of the Great Recession. Global markets have taken heavy losses since 2018 amid the mounting cost of President Trump’s trade battles, rising interest rates and fears of a possible economic slowdown within six to 12 months.