U.S. stocks open lower on growth concerns; Dow Jones down 0.86%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as sustained concerns over the outlook for global economic growth weighed on investor confidence.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.86%, the S&P 500 index tumbled 1.06%, while the Nasdaq Composite index retreated 1.22%.

Concerns over the outlook for the global economic recovery mounted after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for global growth for 2013 and 2014 on Tuesday.

The IMF said continued monetary stimulus by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan was expected to continue to support growth in the U.S. and Japan, while the euro zone still posed the greatest threat to a recovery in the global economy.

Investors were looking ahead to a meeting of finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of 20 nations on Thursday and Friday, amid speculation over whether Japan will face criticism over the BoJ’s unprecedented easing program.

Financial stocks were broadly lower, as shares in JP Morgan retreated 0.95% and Goldman Sachs tumbled 1.74%, while Citigroup and Bank of America plummeted 1.80% and 3.75% respectively.

Earlier in the day, Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon, down 1.48%, posted results that that fell short of expectations.

Adding to losses, Intel declined 1.14% after the chipmaker missed earnings estimates by a penny and said it expects a current-quarter revenue decline of as much as eight% due to a drop in PC sales.

Elsewhere, aicraft manufacturer Boeing lost 1.16%, after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday examined whether to allow the 787 Dreamliner to resume long-distance, trans-ocean flights as part of its review of a revamped battery system.

Among consumer goods companies, Procter & Gamble slipped 0.18% amid reports it plans to increase the time it takes to pay its suppliers by as much as 30 days, which could free up to USD2 billion in cash.

In the auto sector, Ford shares plummeted 1.30%, as the company's European car registrations fell 15.9% in March, according to data published by the Association of European Carmakers.

Other stocks in focus included American Express, Ebay and Sandisk, due to report earnings later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.45%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.59%, Germany's DAX plunged 1.90%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.66%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 0.47%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.22%.

The Federal Reserve was to produce its beige book later in the day.