Dow sinks 700 points, dropping back below 30,000 to the lowest level in more than a year; European stocks close 2.5% lower as central banks hike interest rates 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday tumbled below the key 30,000 level for the first time since January 2021 as investors worried the Federal Reserve’s aggressive approach toward curbing inflation would bring the economy into a recession. 
Markets had rallied on Wednesday after the Fed announced its largest rate hike since 1994, but reversed those gains and then some on Thursday. 
The Dow dropped 2.42%, or 741.46 points, to 29,927.07, while the S&P 500 slipped 3.25% to 3,666.77. The Nasdaq Composite slid 4.08% to 10,646.10 and touched its lowest level since September 2020. 
Data out Thursday further indicated a dramatic slowdown in economic activity. Housing starts dropped 14% in May, much deeper than the 2.6% decline expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. The Philadelphia Fed Business Index for June came in with a negative 3.3 reading, its first contraction since May 2020. 
Home Depot, Intel, Walgreens, JPMorgan, 3M, and American Express hit new 52-week lows amid growing recession fears while tech shares dropped after a bounce on Wednesday. Amazon, Apple and Netflix all sank nearly 4%. Tesla and Nvidia dropped 8.5% and 5.6%, respectively. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down by 2.5% provisionally, with tech shares plunging 4.7% to lead the losses. A higher interest rate environment is seen as negative for growth-oriented sectors like tech. 
The Swiss National Bank surprised markets on Thursday with a 50 basis point rate hike, its first increase since 2007, as its chairman warned of an increase to inflation and a risk of second-round effects. 
Source: CNBC, Investing.com