U.S. stocks open sharply lower as shutdown weighs; Dow Jones down 1%

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, as ongoing concerns over the consequences of the U.S. government shutdown and a potential U.S. default weighed broadly on market sentiment.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1%, the S&P 500 index retreated 0.91%, while the Nasdaq Composite index slumped 0.80%.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday the House will not support bills to fully reopen the government or increase the U.S. debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to talks about spending cuts.

The comments fuelled fears that the political deadlock in Washington will not be resolved by October 17, the date which the Treasury Department has estimated the U.S. could risk an unprecedented default.

In addition, delays in U.S. economic data releases looked likely to fuel uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will hold off on any move to roll back its USD85 billion a month asset purchase program.

The shutdown meant that Friday’s scheduled release of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for September was postponed and no new date was given for the release of the data.

In the tech sector, Apple shares climbed 0.82% even as rival Samsung Electronics said it wants President Barack Obama to give it the same right he gave the iPhone maker, which is the right to keep importing smartphones and tablets found to infringe the other's patents.

Separately, the SEC ended an investigation into Apple's overseas cash and tax practices without taking any action.

Adding to gains, BlackBerry surged 3.90% after Reuters reported last week that the smartphone maker is talking to Cisco, Google and SAP about selling all or parts of the company.

On the downside, private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC tumbled 0.99% as it was reportedly considering seeking approval to raise the limit on its next flagship fund after investors expressed interest in putting in as much as USD20 billion.

Elsewhere, Alcoa lost 1.01% after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the aluminum producer to "equal weight" from "overweight."

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.71%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.61%, Germany's DAX lost 0.83%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.73%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.71%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.22%.