Oil falls below $30 a barrel, sending global markets into sharp decline

U.S. stocks are opening sharply lower, led by steep declines in energy companies as the price oil takes another tumble.

The price of oil sank below $30 Friday a barrel and is trading at the lowest level since 2003.

The sharp slump in crude from over $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014 has eviscerated energy company profits and made it much harder for them to pay off their debts.

Intel dropped as earnings from its PC business continue to slump.

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 350 points, or 2 percent, to 16,028 as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 42 points, or 2.2 percent, to 1,879. The Nasdaq fell 117 points, or 2.5 percent, to 4,499.