At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 764.13 points, or 2.25%, to 33,202.22. The S&P500 index fell by 99.57 points, or 2.49%, to 3,895.75. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 360.36 points, or 3.23%, to 10,810.53.
Concerns about the outlook for interest rates continued to weigh on Wall Street as central banks in Europe raised interest rates a day after the US Federal Reserve hiked its key rate again. The Fed raised its short-term interest rate by half a%age point on Wednesday, its seventh increase this year. Central banks in Europe followed along Thursday, with the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Swiss National Bank each raising their main lending rate by a half-point Thursday.
Computer hardware stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, with Western Digital led retreat, plunging by 10.1%, after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the data storage company stock to Sell from Neutral.
Considerable weakness was also visible among gold stocks amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery tumbling $30.90 to $1,787.80 an ounce.
ECONOMIC NEWS: The Commerce Department said retail sales slid by 0.6% in November after surging by 1.3% in October. Excluding a steep drop in sale by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales slipped by 0.2% in November after jumping by 1.2% in October.
The Fed said industrial production slipped by 0.2% in November after edging down by 0.1% in October.
Separate reports from the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserves also showed contractions in regional manufacturing activity in the month of December.
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