Stocks slide as Federal Reserve signals sharper interest rate hikes

Stocks are slumping after Federal Reserve officials signaled their willingness to aggressively hike interest rates to fight inflation. 

The S&P 500 fell 75 points, or 1.7%, to 4,319 in morning trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sank 1.4%. Shares lost ground before the start of trade after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated aggressive increases in interest rates were needed to fight inflation.

In a panel discussion held Thursday by the International Monetary Fund, Powell said the Fed must move faster than it has previously to tackle high inflation, which suggests sharp interest rate increases are likely in coming months.