Wall Street slips at open as Italy's political turmoil weighs

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday as investors switched cash into perceived safe havens of global financial markets due to a deepening political crisis in Italy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 146.50 points, or 0.59 percent, at the open to 24,606.59. The S&P 500 opened lower by 16.22 points, or 0.60 percent, at 2,705.11. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 35.34 points, or 0.48 percent, to 7,398.51 at the opening bell.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)