S&P 500 opens sharply lower, energy stocks suffer heavy losses

• Wall Street's main indexes trade deep in the red on Wednesday.
• All major sectors of S&P 500 fall after opening bell.
• CBOE Volatility Index is up more than 15%.

Major equity indexes in the US opened sharply lower on Wednesday as safe-haven flows dominate the financial markets. Reflecting the risk-averse market environment, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, is up 17.75% on the day at 25.13.

As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.25% at 33,640, the S&P 500 was losing 1.4% at 4,070 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 1.5% at 13,019.

All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 trade in the negative territory after the opening bell. The Energy Index is losing 2.2% as the biggest percentage decline, pressured by a 3% drop seen in the US crude oil prices. Moreover, the risk-sensitive Technology Index is down 1.5%.

S&P 500 chart (daily)