North American markets opened lower on Monday, after a weekend meeting of the Group of Seven industrial nations called for more exchange rate flexibility, triggering a steep fall in the U.S. greenback and sharp declines in overseas equities markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average opened down 76.08 points at 9,568.74. The broader S&P 500 fell 6.88 points at 1,029.42. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was off 27.34 points, at 1,878.36.

Shortly after the open, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 30.67 points at 7,571.54.

Overseas stock markets fell heavily Monday, shaken by the weak U.S. dollar.

Tokyo’s Nikkei stock average fell 463.32 points to 10,475.10, its sharpest decline since September 2001, amid worries that the yen’s strength against the American greenback would hurt automakers, electronics companies and other exporters.

European stock exchanges have been pushed lower by automakers and other exporters sensitive to exchange rates.

The FTSE 100 index is down 1.3% early in the afternoon in London, losing 53.5 points to 4,203.5. The Frankfurt DAX is down 2.8% and the Paris CAC40 is off 2.6%.

In economic news, Canadian retail sales advanced 0.8% in July to $26.6 billion, the third consecutive monthly gain.

According to Statistics Canada, July’s increase in retail spending was concentrated in the automotive, furniture and drug sectors. However, strong auto sales were responsible for the bulk of the growth.

Excluding sales by motor and recreational vehicle dealers, the largest component of the automotive sector, retail sales fell 0.4% in July.

There is no major economic news from the United States due Monday.

On Sunday, the New York Stock Exchange chose former Citigroup chairman and CEO John Reed as its interim leader

On Friday, the Toronto S&P/TSX composite index edged up 1.62 points to 7,602.21, supported by gold stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 14.31 points to 9,644.82. The Nasdaq composite gave back 3.85 points to 1,905.70, while S&P 500 index was off 3.28, at 1,036.30.