NEW YORK: U.S. stocks dropped on Tuesday, giving the S&P 500 its biggest decline in two months, on increasing views the Federal Reserve may raise rates as soon as June.
The Dow and S&P 500 ended in negative territory for the year, with the S&P 500 off 3.5 percent from its March 2 record closing high.
Those Fed worries pushed the U.S. dollar to a nearly 12-year peak against the euro EUR=, and added to concerns the dollar will continue to weigh on U.S. multinationals’ earnings.
Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report was largely behind the recent rate jitters.
“The issue out there has been the strong employment report, which has set off fears of an interest rate hike by the Fed sooner or more aggressively than had been anticipated,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Group in Bedford Hills, New York.
All 10 of the S&P 500 sectors ended lower. Financial and technology sectors, each down more than 2 percent, were the biggest drags. Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC.N) were down 2.5 percent at $53.29.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 332.78 points, or 1.85 percent, to 17,662.94, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 35.27 points, or 1.7 percent, to 2,044.16, its biggest daily percentage decline since Jan. 5.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 82.64 points, or 1.67 percent, to 4,859.80.
