Dow plunges more than 1,000 points in first moments of Monday trading

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged over 1,000 points (more than 5 percent) in the first moments of trading Monday, before recovering by several hundred points. The benchmark index is still down hundreds of points today. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq opened down more than 8 percent, and the S&P 500 fell more than 5 percent, before recovering a bit.

The stock market took a dramatic plunge globally on Friday, too, when the Dow Jones closed its worst week since 2011 following investors' increasing concerns over China's economic slowdown.

On Monday, China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropped 8.5 percent, wiping out the year's gains, as a string of weak economic data and Beijing's recent currency devaluation sent investors scrambling to safer assets. China is the world's No. 2 economy, and investors are betting that its economic slowdown is worse than government data indicates.

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