U.S. stocks "return to red" as markets deal with aggressive rate hikes

Stocks are plunging on Wall Street Thursday as bond yields march higher and put the squeeze back on markets.

The S&P 500 dropped 2.1% as of 11:44 a.m. EST. Nearly every stock in the benchmark index lost ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 446 points, or 1.5%, to 29,238 and the Nasdaq fell 2.9%.

A day before, stocks jumped and bond yields tumbled in relief after the Bank of England moved forcefully to keep borrowing rates in the United Kingdom from spiking further. That relief was short-lived, however, and Wall Street still remains focused on the Federal Reserve and its aggressive rate hikes aimed at slowing the economy and cooling the hottest inflation in four decades.