Investing.com -- U.S. stocks accelerated their sell-off late in Thursday's session falling sharply on the day, amid limited increases in the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program and dovish comments from Janet Yellen on the likelihood of an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. dollar suffered its worst one-day loss against the euro in more than six years after the ECB left several key interest rates unchanged and opted not to increase the pace of its €60 billion a month quantitative easing program, as many expected. Yellen, the chair of the Federal Reserve, told a Congressional hearing that the U.S. economy needs to add fewer than 100,000 jobs a month to absorb the losses of those who fell out of the labor market in recent years. Her comments came one day before a critical U.S. jobs report on Friday could pave the way for the Fed to raise short-term interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 252.01 or 1.42% to 17,477.67, as investors digested FBI reports that the suspect in Wednesday's shooting in Southern California appeared to be radicalized. At one point on Thursday afternoon, the Dow fell by more than 300 points extending losses from Wednesday's sell-off. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, lost 85.69 or 1.67% to 5,037.53, as interest-rate sensitive stocks in the Utilities and Home Building sectors took a hit following aggressive upward moves in U.S. 10-Year bond yields.
The S&P 500 Composite fell into negative territory for the year, as stocks in all 10 sectors closed in the red on Thursday. Stocks in the Health Care, Energy and Financials industries lagged, each falling by more than 1.5% on the day. With the losses the S&P 500 closed on Thursday at 2,049.62, down 29.89 or 1.44% on the session.
A Fed rate hike is viewed as bullish for the dollar, but bearish for equities, as foreign investors exit their positions and pile into U.S. Treasuries in order to capitalize on higher yields. The dollar also suffered on Thursday, as investors abandoned short positions in the euro, amid expectations for a significant expansion in the ECB's bond-buying program and deeper cuts in its deposit facility rate.
The top performer on the Dow was Wal-Mart Stores Inc (N:WMT), which gained 0.68 or 1.17% to 59.03. The worst performer was The Travelers Companies Inc (N:TRV), which fell 3.44 of 3.00% to 111.27, after CEO Jay Fishman stepped down from a position he held for the last 14 years. Fishman, 63, continued to work over the last 14 months since being diagnosed with the neurodegenerative condition Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Avago Technologies, which rose 11.91 or 9.01% to 144.12, after topping third quarter expectations on Thursday. For the company's third quarter, which ended in early-November, the Silicon Valley-based chipmaker saw its revenue surge 16%, amid strong growth in its wireless and device-storage divisions.
The worst performer was Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (O:VRTX), which plunged 8.59 or 6.59% to 121.82 on the session, amid concerns of regulatory pushback against the pharmaceutical industry for price gouging. On Tuesday, the US Senate finance committee issued a report accusing Gilead Sciences (O:GILD) of overpricing its new hepatitis C drug at $1,000 a pill. In July, Vertex's high-priced Cystic Fibrosis drug Orkambi received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Avago was also the top performer on the S&P 500, just ahead of Newmont Mining Corporation (N:NEM) which gained 0.86 or 4.79% to 18.71. A host of commodities, including gold and copper moved higher on Thursday in reaction to the dollar's nosedive. The worst performer was Chesapeake Energy Corporation (N:CHK), which plunged 0.71 or 12.77% to 4.82. Shares in the Oklahoma-based energy company are down by more than 70% over the last 12 months.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 2,507-592 margin.