US stocks open sharply lower again on virus fears

Wall Street stocks tumbled in opening trading Friday, suffering another steep decline as fears of an economic slowdown due to coronavirus again pummeled global markets

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 800 points, or 3.0 percent, at 24,986.27. The index had shed more than 11 percent this week heading into Friday's session

The broad-based S&P 500 sank 3.1 percent to 2,887.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 3.3 percent to 8,285.87.