Wall St ends sharply down

Wall Street’s main indexes posted their biggest weekly drop of 2023 after sharp losses on Friday, as investors braced for the possibility of more aggressive rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve as U.S. economic data pointed to resilient consumers. For the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), the 3% fall was its biggest weekly decline since September. It was also the Dow’s fourth straight weekly decline, its longest losing streak for nearly 10 months.

The S&P 500 (.SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) were also down 2.7% and 3.3%, respectively, reported Reuters.

After a strong January, stocks have retreated this month as a slew of economic data amplified worries that the US central bank might have to keep rates higher for longer.

Data on Friday showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, shot up 0.6% last month after gaining just 0.2% in December. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, jumped 1.8% last month, exceeding forecasts for a 1.3% rise.