Stocks open sharply lower Friday; Dow sinks 1.8%

Stocks are opening sharply lower on Wall Street, putting the market on track for its worst week since October 2008 during the global financial crisis. U.S. indexes fell 1.8% following steep losses in Europe and Asia. The rout is driven by fear that the virus that emerged in China will derail the global economy.
Investors continue to buy up low-risk assets like bonds, sending yields to record lows.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 463 points, or 1.8%, to 25,311. The S&P 500 lost 54 point