S&P 500 Index opens sharply lower dragged by energy and tech shares

• Wall Street's main indexes are posting big losses after the opening bell.
• All major sectors of S&P 500 trades in the negative territory.
• Energy and technology shares are the worst performers. 

Major equity indexes in the US started the day deep in the negative territory on Thursday as safe-haven flows continue to dominate the financial markets. Reflecting the risk-averse market environment, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, is up 11% on a daily basis at 28.90.

As of writing, the S&P 500 Index was down 1.35% on a daily basis at 3,340, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 1.15% at 27,703 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 1.87% at 10,844.

All the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the negative territory after the opening bell. The risk-sensitive Energy and Technology indexes lose 2.4% and 1.85%, respectively, as the worst performers in the early trade. 

Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Department of Labor showed that Initial Jobless Claims declined by 33,000 to 860,000 but was largely ignored by the market participants. Other data from the US showed that the headline Diffusion Index of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey edged lower to 15 in September.

S&P 500 chart (daily)