Markets slide as rate rises fuel economy fears

Image source, Reuters

After a series of rate hikes around the world, worries about the economy have caused stock markets to tumble.

On Thursday, the UK and Switzerland raised their interest rates, a day after the US central bank raised its rate by a large amount.

Policymakers are raising rates in order to slow the demand for goods and services.

The moves will tip the global economy into a sustained downturn, according to investors.

Ryan Sweet of Moody's said after the US rate rise was announced that the risk was that they also break the economy.

The S&P 500 fell more than 20% from its January high before the US rate hike.

The S&P 500 fell more than 3% on Thursday, while the tech-laden Nasdaq dropped more than 4%.

The index fell below 30,000 points for the first time in nearly two years.

Nike and airlines were among those that were hardest hit by the downturn.

Demand for energy would fall in the event of an economic downturn.

The firm's shares fell after it raised prices. The autopilot features of the firm are under scrutiny.

The streaming giant sank after saying it was slowing hiring in the face of economic uncertainty, becoming the latest big company to announce such a move.

The outlook outside the US was just as bad.

In the UK, where the Bank of England warned that inflation could go up to 9% this year, the FTSE 100 ended the day down more than 3%.

Asos warned investors that inflationary pressures were affecting shopping behavior.

Germany's Dax index fell more than 3% while France's Cac 40 fell more than 2%.

The benchmark fell to its lowest level in over a year.