US stocks see heavy losses amid panic selling

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Major US stock indexes ended sharply lower Thursday amid fears that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes to battle inflation will cause a slowdown in the economy.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 1,063.09 points, or 3.12%, to 32,997 while the S&P 500 fell 153.30 points, or 3.56%, to 4,146.87.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 647.16 points, or 4.99%, to 12,317.69.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced nine basis points to 3.03%.

Global benchmark Brent crude was trading at $110.93 a barrel, up 0.73%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $108.30 – a 0.52% gain.

Gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,877.90 an ounce and silver went up 0.57% to $22.53.

Investors remain cautious as they debate whether the Fed’s monetary tightening will tip the US economy into a recession.

On Wednesday, the Fed increased its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, marking its steepest rate hike since 2000.

In the US, nonfarm business sector labor productivity decreased 7.5% in the first quarter of 2022, the biggest quarterly decline in almost 75 years, according to the latest data.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday she expects "solid growth" for the economy in the coming year as the Federal Reserve moves toward lowering record-high inflation.

Noting that inflation in the US is "too high," she warned during her speech at The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit in London that a potential slowdown in European economies could "spill over" to the US as well.