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US stocks opened sharply lower on Wednesday as economic data reinforced concerns about the health of the world economy and that corporate merger activity may be slowing.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 186.52 points, or 1.14 percent, to 16,128.67, the S&P 500 lost 21.84 points, or 1.16 percent, to 1,855.86 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 71.66 points, or 1.7 percent, to 4,155.52.
