Wall Street opened 2019 with decisive losses on Wednesday, continuing the downward spiral from December as weak Chinese manufacturing data underscored worries over slowing global growth.

Traders work on the floor at the opening bell of the Dow Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange on September 28, 2018 in New York. (File photo: AFP)

Shortly after the 1430 GMT opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.4 percent at 22,993.08.

The broad-based S&P 500 had fallen 1.3 percent to 2,473.17, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 1.6 percent to 6,526.35.

Wednesday's early declines were a perpetuation of the market exodus that dominated trading in December and left major US indices with losses for 2018.

Among individual companies, shares of Tesla dived nearly nine percent after the electric car maker delivered fewer vehicles than expected in the fourth quarter.

Markets were closed on Tuesday for the New Year's holiday.

Data releases later this week include US auto sales for December and the December employment report from the Department of Labor.