US open: Markets slide amid concerns over Eurozone slowdown

US stocks declined on Wednesday, amid concerns that a slowdown in the Eurozone could hit the US economy.

Just before 10:00 in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 74.59 points down at 17,540.31, while the S&P fell 6.78 points to 2,032.90 and the Nasdaq shed 8.50 points to 4,178.66.

Concerns that a slowdown in Europe could weigh on the US economy were exacerbated on Wednesday after the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, unveiled lower UK growth and inflation forecasts, while officials adjusted to account for “moribund” global expansion and stagnation in Europe.

Investors were also monitoring developments in Ukraine, as growing tensions in the nation’s eastern combat zone threatened to boil over into open conflict.

With no major economic data scheduled for release during Wednesday's session, markets were on the lookout for comments from Federal Reserve official Narayana Kocherlakota, seen as a dovish member of the Federal Open Market Committee.

"Last time out, Kocherlakota claimed that there’s no evidence of inflation returning to 2% and I very much doubt today’s comments will differ too much from this," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari UK.

Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co both slid after having to pay regulators settlements of $668m and $662m respectively in foreign-exchange manipulation cases. The banks, along with three others, had to pay fines worth a combined $3bn.

Retailers were also in focus as companies gear up for Black Friday in two weeks' time, the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally marks the start of holiday shopping season for US consumers.

Department-store chain Macy's rose after topping forecasts with a 23% rise in third-quarter profit, though the company did cut its outlook for full-year sales.

JM Smucker fell after cutting its profit target for the year, while Fossil Group rose sharply as results topped estimates.

Susquehanna Bancshares soared after BB&T agreed to buy the lender for $2.5bn, while Beazer Homes USA advanced after sales beat estimates.

The dollar rose against the pound and the euro but fell against the yen, while gold futures advanced to $1,164.30.

The price of West Texas intermediate and Brent crude fell, with the former trading at just over $77 a barrel and the latter trading at just under $81 a barrel.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell four basis points to 2.32%, while the yield on the 30-year note declined three basis points to 3.06% and the yield on the five-year Treasuries slid by the same margin to 1.61%.