 "A specialist trader works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York")
A plunge in oil prices sent U.S. stocks sharply lower at the open on Friday, with the Nasdaq falling over 3 percent to its lowest since Aug. 24 and S&P 500 less than 30 points away from its August lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 159.22 points, or 0.97 percent, to 16,219.83.
The S&P 500 lost 24.49 points, or 1.27 percent, to 1,897.35 and the Nasdaq Composite index dropped 146.07 points, or 3.17 percent, to 4,468.94.
