US stocks sink as China worries mount

US stocks traded sharply lower Tuesday as poor factory data from China sparked another round of global equity selloffs.

An hour into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 333.32 points (2.02 percent) at 16,194.71.

The broader S&P 500 lost 38.00 points (1.93 percent) at 1,934.18, and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 75.25 (1.58 percent) at 4,715.27.

The new round of market turmoil, which saw major European bourses losing more than 2.5 percent, came after China's official purchasing managers' index fell to its lowest level in three years in August, and showed the manufacturing sector contracting.

Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com said that it was not only Chinese data driving sellers; PMIs in the United States, Japan, India, Italy, France, Spain, and the eurozone have all showed a deceleration in economic activity.
Together they "have added to the market's angst about economic growth prospects," he said.

Oil companies led the fall on Wall Street Tuesday amid a reversal in crude prices following three straight, large gains.

Dow members ExxonMobil lost 3.8 percent and Chevron 3.4 percent.

Major banks were also sharply lower: Citigroup lost 4.2 percent and JPMorgan Chase 3.1 percent.

Ford was one of the few gainers among top companies, with the automaker's shares adding 0.3 percent on solid August sales.

GM, which reported more lackluster sales, fell 2.2 percent.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury slipped to 2.18 percent from 2.20 percent Monday while the 30-year rose to 2.95 percent from 2.93 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.