By David Hodari 

U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday, as the concerns over global growth behind recent wild swings continued to drag on investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 150 points, or 0.6%, to 25561. The S&P 500, which has closed lower eight of the past 10 trading days, was down 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.7%.

Thursday's losses came amid continued selling in Asia against a backdrop of recent market volatility, with investors increasingly concerned about rising bond yields, the state of the U.S. and China's trade relationship and the longevity of the global expansion.

Indexes fell across the Asia-Pacific region, with Chinese stocks in particular taking another hammering. Shanghai's composite index fell 2.9% and the Shenzhen A-Share dropped 2.7%. The Shanghai exchange has dropped by a quarter so far this year. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%.

While there was no immediate catalyst for Thursday's selloff in China, the continued slowdown in the country's credit growth was the biggest driver of weakness in its equity market, Macquarie economists said in a note.

Worries that growth may be slowing in the world's second-largest economy have sharpened investors' focus on Chinese economic figures, and assets could take another hit if analyst forecasts for slowing growth in 2018's third quarter are proven correct when those figures are released Friday.

Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal forecast growth of 6.6% versus 6.7% in the second quarter, with analysts pointing to softer data in both China's production and consumption sectors.

"People are worried that China's slowing is more real than in 2015," said Shawn Snyder, head of investment strategy at Citi Personal Wealth Management. "Some companies, like Apple and Louis Vuitton, are also talking about Chinese demand slowing."

The Chinese yuan was down against the U.S. dollar, hitting a fresh 21-month low, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin criticized Beijing's "lack of currency transparency," saying that its currency practices pose "major challenges to achieving fairer and more balanced trade."

While Mr. Mnuchin stopped short of formally labeling China a "currency manipulator," the move came after months of sharp rhetoric between the Trump and Xi administrations. Washington also announced it was pulling out of a 144-year-old postal treaty with Beijing that helped Chinese retailers.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the currency against a basket of 16 others, was up less than 0.1%.

In 2015 and 2016, the yuan's weakness sparked a capital flight from China and a sharp fall in domestic stocks, and market participants now expect further currency weakness. The yuan may fall a further 5% in the coming 12 months, said Jonas David, a strategist at UBS Chief Investment Office.

"Slowing growth in the Chinese economy, further fiscal and monetary easing and a diminishing current account surplus: We think these all point toward gradual yuan weakness," Mr. David said.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 was down less than 0.1% in afternoon trading. Investors were watching for any further signs of political strife in Europe, with negotiations for the U.K. to leave the European Union showing no end in sight, and Italian budget negotiations with European lawmakers also dragging on.

In commodities, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, fell below $80 a barrel for the first time in nearly a month, sliding 1.5% to $78.88 a barrel. Earlier in October, Brent breached the $85-a-barrel level for the first time in roughly four years, sparking concerns about its effect on inflation and some emerging markets.

Jessica Menton and Mike Bird contributed to this article.

Write to David Hodari at David.Hodari@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2018 10:08 ET (14:08 GMT)

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