Wall Street tanks as inflation fears spook investors

Wall Street tanks as inflation fears spook investors

Wall Street suffered a punishing selloff on Thursday after the Federal Reserve announced the biggest US interest rate rise in 22 years in an attempt to control rampant inflation. The technology-focused Nasdaq index slumped more than 5pc in the worst day since 2020. It is now in a “bear market” after falling 22pc since the start of the year. April was the worst month for the Nasdaq since the 2008 financial crisis. The broader S&P 500 shed almost 4pc while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 3.3pc. The yield on 10-year US government bonds rose to almost 3.1pc, while inflation-hedge gold bounced higher after Jerome Powell, the Fed chairman, admitted that inflation was "much too high" and said that further 0.5 point increases are likely to be needed within weeks. US consumer prices jumped by 8.5pc in March compared with the same month last year. Anthony Saglimbene at Ameriprise Financial said: "It's a very messy environment for investors right now. There's an overall negative sentiment in the market." Daniel Ives at Wedbush said: “The risk-off sentiment is brutal for investors in this tech wreck. Wall Street is seeing white-knuckle selling as Powell and the Fed try to chase rising inflation.