US open: Stocks plunge on China worries as oil prices continue to tumble

US equities turned south early on Tuesday, after a fresh batch of weak Chinese data renewed fears over a possible global slowdown.

Shortly after 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 166 points to 17,564.96, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were 16 and 30 points lower respectively.

On the macroeconomic front, according to figures released by the Labor Department, job openings fell from 5.53m in September to 5.38m in October, falling short of analysts’ expectations for a 5.54m reading.

Meanwhile, the NFIB small business index fell short of expectations in November, as it ticked down from 96.1 to 94.8, compared with analysts’ forecast for a 96.4 reading.

The economic and earnings expectations gauges both fell three points, while the sales expectations sub-index shed five points.

“Even though there is talk that the Fed will be raising rates this month, it will hardly signal that they are feeling more optimistic about the economy,” said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.

Chinese data disappoints

Exports in the world’s second largest economy fell 6.8% in November, their fifth straight month of decline and a sharper drop than expected, while imports were down 8.7%, slightly better than consensus calling for an 11.8% decline.

The overall trade surplus came in at 343bn yuan or $53bn.

“Chinese export numbers fell sharply to post -6.8% instead of the -5% that was expected,” said James Hughes, chief market analyst at GKFX.

“This has spooked the market a little but nowhere near as much as negative China data would have done prior to us being a little more certain about the Fed’s next decision.”

In company news, Staples and Office Depot slid 5.91% and 3.22% respectively, after announcing late on Monday they would contest the US Federal Trade Commission’s decision to block Staples’s proposed acquisition of Office Depot.

Chipotle fell 2.73% after reports emerged late on Monday that a number of students fell ill after eating at a Boston restaurant. The restaurant chain has been working with the Centers for Disease Control over the past month as it investigates an E.coli outbreak that involved nine states.

Elsewhere, European stocks were on the back foot, while oil prices continued to slide.

West Texas Intermediate tumbled 1.81% to $36.98 a barrel, while Brent crude lost 1.49% to $40.13 a barrel.

The dollar gained 0.44% against the pound but fell 0.41% and 0.38% against the yen and the euro respectively, while gold spot gained 0.39% to $1,072.83.