Dow hits near two-year low on recession worries

The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a near two-year low on Friday, the first major US stock index to fall below its June trough on an intraday basis and mark a new low for the year, following fears of an economic slump brought on by aggressive interest rate hikes.

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points earlier this week and vowed to keep going until inflation was in check, in line with the monetary policy tightening stance by many central banks around the globe.

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The blue-chip index was also close to falling 20 per cent below its Jan. 4 record closing high, which would confirm the index has been in bear market at the close, according to a commonly used definition.

The S&P 500 confirmed it was in bear market in June and the Nasdaq in March.

At 10:08 am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 408.50 points, or 1.36 per cent, at 29,668.18, after briefly falling before below this year's low of 29,653.29 points on June 17.

The S&P 500 was down 65.07 points, or 1.73 per cent, at 3,692.92, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 220.27 points, or 1.99 per cent, at 10,846.54.