Investors were also rattled ahead of Friday's key employment report from the Labor Department, which they hope will provide some clarity on the Fed's next policy moves.
At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 543.54 points, or 1.66%, to 32,254.86. The S&P500 index dropped 73.69 points, or 1.85%, to 3,918.32. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 237.65 points, or 2.05%, to 11,338.35.
All 11 sectors ended lower along with the S&P500 Index. Financials was worst performing sector, falling 4.1%, followed by materials (down 2.54%), consumer discretionary (down 2.36%), and real estate (down 2.3%) sectors.
The Labor Department report showed that initial jobless claims climbed to 211,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 190,000, signaling that the labor market may be starting to slow. In retrospect, ADP's payrolls report and JOLTS data on Wednesday suggested a resilient economy, heightening fears that the Fed needs more hiking to slow it.
Financials were biggest drag on the benchmark, with SVB Financial led retreat, down 60%, after announcing a $1.75 billion stock sale, in order to cover rapidly declining customer deposits. Financial bellwethers JPMorgan Chase dropped by 5.4%, Bank of America fell 6.2%, Wells Fargo was down 6.2% and Citigroup was 4.1% lower.
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