Stocks fell sharply in morning trading on Wall Street
Tuesday for the second straight day as investors fear that high-interest rates
aren’t going away any time soon as the Federal Reserve fights inflation. 

The S&P 500 fell 21.03 points or 0.52% to 4,009.58 as
of 10:20 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 136.92 points
or 0.43% to 31,962.07. The Nasdaq fell 53.36 points or 0.44% to 11,964.31.

Markets have been down since Federal Reserve Chairperson
Jerome Powell indicated Friday that the central bank will stick to its policy
of raising interest rates to cool off the hottest inflation in four decades.

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A positive report on the job market further decreased any
hopes that the Fed would be able to ease up on its inflation-fighting policy.
The higher rates are meant to keep inflation in control by slowing down the
economy, including the pace of hiring.

According to the government report, there were 11.2 million
open jobs as of July 31, which means around two jobs for every unemployed
person on average. The number was up from 11 million in June and June’s data
was also revised sharply higher. The Labor Department will release its monthly
employment report on Friday.

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Wall Street is concerned that the Fed could raise the
interest rates too high or too fast and lead the already slowing economy into a
recession. Higher interest rates also hurt investment prices, especially for
pricier stocks.

The central bank has already increased interest rates four
times this year and is expected to raise short-term rates by another 0.75
percentage points at its next meeting in September, according to CME Group.

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Traders have been closely watching economic data for any
additional insights that the economy is slowing down or that inflation may be
cooling or at least holding at its current level. Businesses and consumers have
been severely impacted by rising prices on everything from food to clothing,
but recent declines in gasoline prices have provided some relief.

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Technology stocks pulled the broader market down. Chipmaker
Nvidia fell 1.1%. Energy stocks fell along with a 4.8% decline in US crude oil
prices Chevron slipped 3%. Best Buy was a bright spot, jumping 5% after
reporting results for its latest quarter that were higher than expected. The
yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 3.13% from 3.11% late Monday.