U.S. stocks open sharply lower, eyes on Fed; Dow Jones down 0.99%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday, as investors remained focused on whether the Federal Reserve will begin to unwind its stimulus program, while the Bank of Japan disappointed market expectations for steps to ease market volatility.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.99%, the S&P 500 index tumbled 1.19%, while the Nasdaq Composite index plummeted 1.29%.

At the end of its policy meeting, the BoJ refrained from implementing measures to ease volatility in the government bond market.

Meanwhile, speculation that the U.S. central bank will begin to taper its asset purchase program continued following last week’s upbeat U.S. jobs data and after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s revised its long-term outlook on the U.S. credit rating to stable from negative on Monday, citing an improving economic outlook.

Texas Instruments plunged 1.91% after the company released a second quarter outlook that confirmed its PC and notebook sales are weak this quarter.

In the same sector, U.S.-traded Sony shares jumped 1.24% and Microsoft tumbled 1.49% after the two companies released on Monday night the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game consoles respectively.

Sony's PS4 console was priced at USD399, undercutting the Xbox One by USD100.

Adding to losses, aircraft manufacturer Boeing dropped 0.95% after the company raised its 20-year forecast for commercial jet demand by 3.8% as air traffic outstrips global economic growth and airlines refresh their fleets with USD4.8 trillion in new planes.

In the retailer sector, Lululemon Athletica dove 14.93% after announcing late Monday that its chief executive will step down. The announcement came three months after the yogawear retailer's recall of see-through pants.

Among Internet-related companies, Facebook plummeted 1.18%, even as Stifel Nicolaus raised its rating on the social networking company's stock.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 2.18%, France’s CAC 40 tumbled 1.89%, Germany's DAX retreated 1.80%, while Britain's FTSE 100 plummeted 1.72%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.20%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged 1.45%.