The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled below the key 30,000 level on Thursday as investors worried the Federal Reserve's more aggressive approach toward inflation would bring the economy into a recession.
The 30-stock index stumbled 705.45 points, or 2.3%, to commence trading Thursday at 29,963.08, after the Fed announced its largest rate hike since 1994, but reversed those gains and then some on Thursday, tumbling to the lowest level since January 2021.
While 30,000 isn't necessarily a technical level for the Dow, these round 1,000-point thresholds are seen by many on Wall Street as key psychological levels for the market.
The S&P 500 ditched 113.67 points, or 3%, to 3,676.32.
The NASDAQ Composite retreated 393.93 points, or 3.6%, to 10,705.22.
It's been a rough week, the Dow entering Thursday's session down 4.5%, while the S&P has lost 5.7% and the NASDAQ gave up 5.6%, for the week and well below record levels.
Data out Thursday further indicated a dramatic slowdown in economic activity. Housing starts dropped 14% in May, topping the 2.6% decline expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.
Home Depot, Intel, Walgreens, JPMorgan, 3M, and American Express hit new 52-week lows amid growing recession fears while tech shares dropped after a bounce on Wednesday.
Tesla, PayPal, Nvidia, Amazon and Netflix all slipped more than 3%. Travel stocks including United, Delta and Carnival also took a leg lower.
Treasury prices capsized, raising yields to 3.41% from Wednesday's 3.28%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell back $2.02 to $113.29 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices acquired $10.30 to $1,829.90 U.S. an ounce.
Dow Crumbles 700+ in First Hour.