US stocks tumble on rate worries
Wall Street stocks finished decisively lower on Tuesday as angst over more Federal Reserve interest rate hikes in the pipeline added to the hit from retailers' lackluster forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2.1 percent lower at 33,129. The S&P 500 shed 2.0 percent to 3,997, while the Nasdaq dropped 2.5 percent to 11,492. The rout came as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury climbed closer to four percent, in the latest sign that markets expect more central bank actions to counter inflation and slow the economy. The Fed walks a fine line trying to cool demand while avoiding tipping the world's biggest economy into a recession. Analysts said the pullback reflects recognition that hopes for a quick Fed pivot may have been unrealistic. "Markets are realising that they may have gotten ahead of themselves," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. "The big speculation that we saw over the past few weeks seems to have been replaced by more sober thinking," he noted. Adding to the unease were downcast 2023 projections from big-box chains Walmart and Home Depot. Both companies acknowledged the drag of inflation and higher interest rates on consumer health. Home Depot was the biggest loser in the Dow, falling 7.1 percent, while Walmart mustered a 0.6 percent gain. Other Dow-listed companies with deep losses were Intel, down 5.6 percent and 3M, down 3.3 percent. (AFP)