US stocks opened lower Thursday amid expectations of a sharp slowdown in economic activity by the end of 2018 due to an unexpected drop in retail sales in December, which cast a shadow over hopes for a breakthrough in US-China trade talks.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82.62 points, or 0.32 percent, to 25460.65 points.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index SPX shed 9.53 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2743.50 points.
The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 30.13 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 7,390.25.
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