S&P 500 extends slide, loses nearly 1% around 3,840

• Wall Street's main indexes opened deep in the negative territory.
• Nasdaq is down more than 2% amid slumping tech shares.
• Defensive sectors trade in the positive territory after the opening bell.

Major equity indexes in the US started the day deep in the negative territory as safe-haven flows continue to dominate the financial markets. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was losing 0.35% on the day 31,412, the S&P 500 was down 1.03% at 3,836 and the Nasdaq Composite was falling 2.6% at 12,881.

Reflecting the risk-averse market environment, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, is rising more than 7%.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Technology Index is losing 2.5% and the Consumer Discretionary Index is plunging 3.3%. On the other hand, defensive sectors, such as the Real Estate Index and the Utilities Index, trade in the positive territory after the opening bell.

S&P 500 chart (daily)