 "A specialist trader works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York")
Wall Street opened lower on Thursday after weak US economic data heightened investors' fears of a slowdown in the economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.62 points, or 0.12 percent, to 16,317.04, the S&P 500 lost 3.04 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,909.49 and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 11.69 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,492.55.
