U.S. stocks open sharply lower on Fed fears; Dow Jones down 1.19%

Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, as expectations for the Federal Reserve to scale back its stimulus program before the end of the year continued to strongly weigh on global equities.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1.19%, the S&P 500 index plummeted 1.46%, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.28%.

Stocks came under pressure after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said last Wednesday that the bank could begin tapering asset purchases by the end of 2013 if the economy continues to pick up.

Investors were also cautious after the International Monetary Fund on Friday said it would not suspend Greek funding and said Athens has until July to come up with an agreement on its bailout program.

The comments came amid concerns over recent delays in the privatization plan Greece agreed to last year, which could threaten the country’s performance on economic reforms needed to secure bailout funding.

Apple shares tumbled 1.58% after announcing late Friday that it had changed the way senior executives, including CEO Tim Cook, will receive stock awards.

In the same sector, Oracle slipped 0.10%, after shares plunged over 9% on Friday as the tech giant missed expectations for software sales and subscriptions for a second straight quarter.

Financial stocks added to losses, as Citigroup plummeted 2.86% and Bank of America plunged 2.84%, while Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan retreated 2.35% and 2.73% respectively.

Citigroup was expected to announce on Monday that it will open an office in Baghdad, becoming the first U.S. bank to move into Iraq.

Elsewhere, Allergan dove 5.64%, after Deutsche Bank downgraded the maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment to "hold" from "buy" and Leerink Swann LLC trimmed its recommendation to "market perform" from "outperform".

On the upside, Tenet Healthcare surged 6.54% after announcing that it is acquiring Vanguard Health Systems in a deal worth nearly USD4.3 billion, including debt, in an effort to expand into new geographies.

Shares in Vanguard Health skyrocketed 67.10% following the news.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.73%, France’s CAC 40 sank 1.93%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.29%, while Britain's FTSE 100 plummeted 1.47%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 2.22%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.26%.