US stocks followed the rest of the world down on Friday, poised to end a turbulent week on a somber note.
All major US benchmarks opened lower and were down around 1% as of mid-morning.
Betting on the prospects of a US-China trade deal took a back seat to interpretation of economic data, which showed more signs of weakness in China and Europe.
In China, retail sales and industrial production missed estimates ahead of an important economic policy-planning meeting next week.
A gauge of Europe’s manufacturing sector growth posted its worst reading in four years, with business sentiment hurt by political unrest in France.
The data came after the European Central Bank lowered growth forecasts.