Risk-off mood hits equities amid higher-for-longer rate prospects

A hawkish

pause by the United States Federal Reserve,

rising energy prices and multi-year highs for Treasury yields weighed down sentiment on equity markets and sent Wall Street indexes into their worst weekly sessions since March.

The Dow Jones gave up 1.9 per cent to end at 33,963.84, while the S&P 500 fell 2.9 per cent to 4,320.06 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq – the companies listed there are most vulnerable to interest rate changes – tumbled 3.6 per cent to 13,211.81 points.