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S&P 500 index touches two-year lows
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Airlines, cruises fall on cancellations due to Hurricane Ian
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CarMax slumps after missing second-quarter expectations
Sept 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday on worries that the Federal Reserve's aggressive fight against inflation could hobble the U.S. economy, and as investors fretted about a rout in global currency and debt markets.
With tech-related heavyweights Tesla Inc, Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp all slumping, the Nasdaq sank to near its lowest level of 2022, set in mid-June.
The S&P 500 touched lows last seen in November 2020. Down more than 8% in September, the benchmark is on track for its worst September since 2008.
A sell-off in U.S. Treasuries resumed as Fed officials gave no indication the U.S. central bank would moderate or change its plans to aggressively raise interest rates to bring down high inflation.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she does not see distress in U.S. financial markets that would alter the central bank's campaign to lower inflation through rate hikes that have taken the Fed funds rate to a range of 3.0% to 3.25%.
Data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a five-month low last week as the labor market remains resilient despite the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes.
"Good news is bad news in that today's job number again reiterates that the Fed has a long way to go," said Phil Blancato, head of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York. "The fear in the marketplace is that the Fed is going to push us into a very deep recession, which will cause an earnings recession, which is why the market is selling off."
The yields on many Treasuries, which are considered virtually risk-free if held to maturity, now dwarf the S&P 500's dividend yield, which recently stood at about 1.8%, according to Refinitiv Datastream.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 77.83 points, or 2.09%, to end at 3,641.21 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 313.25 points, or 2.83%, to 10,738.39. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 455.19 points, or 1.53%, to 29,228.55.
Among the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, consumer discretionary tumbled as automobile stocks slumped, while utilities also fell heavily.
Meta Platforms ended lower after Bloomberg reported the Facebook-owner froze hiring and warned employees of more downsizing to come.
CarMax Inc slumped after the used-car retailer missed expectations for second-quarter results, hurt by consumers cutting spending amid inflation, rising interest rates and higher car prices.
General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co also fell sharply.
Airline carriers and cruise operators fell on canceled or delayed trips after Hurricane Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force.
American Airlines, United Airlines Holdings and Delta Air Lines each lost ground.
Cruise ship companies Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd and Carnival Corp also fell.
(Reporting by Susan Mathew, Ankika Biswas and Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Medha Singh; Editing by Anil D'Silva, Arun Koyyur and Jonathan Oatis)
