NEW YORK, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) - US stocks opened lower on Monday, kicking off the week in red, as investor sentiment was dimmed by growing worries about the ongoing trade frictions and the prospects of US economic growth.

A trader blows bubble gum during the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 1, 2019, in New York City. (Photo: VCG)

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 183.56 points, or 0.70 percent, to 26,103.88. The S&P 500 slid 18.50 points, or 0.63 percent, to 2,900.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 49.82 points, or 0.63 percent, to 7,909.32.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded lower around market opening, with the energy and the information technology sectors both down around 1.25 percent, leading the losers.

Goldman Sachs cut back its growth forecast for the fourth quarter by 20 basis points to 1.8 percent, as the leading investment bank raised its "estimate of the growth impact of the trade war," said Jan Hatzius, a chief economist of the bank in a note on Sunday.

"The drivers of this modest change are that we now include an estimate of the sentiment and uncertainty effects and that financial markets have responded notably to recent trade news," Hatzius noted.

US stocks posted losses after a roller-coaster ride throughout the past week as the market monitored the latest development of US-China trade tensions and quarterly corporate earnings results.

For the week ending Aug. 9, the Dow lost 0.8 percent, the S&P 500 erased 0.5 percent, and the Nasdaq was down 0.6 percent.