The Dow Jones Industrials crumbled 249.43 points to 34,247.08.
The S&P 500 dropped 22.52 points to 4,458.63
The NASDAQ Composite fell 118.21 points to 13,770.61.
Consumer staples and health care companies rose slightly on Thursday as investors continued their search for safe-haven stocks, which included Walmart, Merck and Procter & Gamble. On the tech front, shares of HP Inc surged 13% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake in the tech hardware maker.
Industrial and real estate stocks like Honeywell, UPS and General Electric were among the worst performers, dipping 2% each as investors worried recent moves from the Fed could slow the economy. Home Depot and Lowe’s both fell about 1%.
Investors also digested initial jobless claims on Thursday, which came in at 166,000 last week, their lowest level since 1968, and signaled the job market remains under pressure.
Thursday’s moves come after the Fed released minutes from its March meeting on Wednesday, which showed that officials planned to reduce their trillions in bond holdings with a consensus amount around $95 billion.
Meanwhile, policymakers indicated that one or more 50 basis-point interest rate hikes could be warranted to battle surging inflation.
Treasury prices fell as yields increased to 2.64%, from Wednesday’s 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices tailed off $1.16 to $95.07 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices progressed $104.80 to $1,933.50 U.S. an ounce.
Stocks Fall for 3rd Straight Day on Fed Tightening