Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq: Interest rate fears ensure a weak start to trading on Wall Street

Dusseldorf Fearing a sharp US interest rate hike, some investors are withdrawing from Wall Street. The leading indices Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell by up to 1.2 percent at the opening on Wednesday.

This speculation was fueled by the surprisingly sharp rise in US retail sales, which are considered the mainstay of the world’s largest economy. The increase in January was almost twice as high as expected at 3.8 percent. “If consumers can absorb the current bout of inflation, keep spending and thrive, that will give the Fed more room to tighten monetary policy more aggressively,” said portfolio manager Keith Buchanan of asset manager Globalt.