U.S. stocks close lower, with Nasdaq and S&P 500 booking sharp losses

U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday as investors weighed economic data on retail sales, unemployment claims and manufacturing amid worries that the Federal Reserve risks triggering a recession by continuing its aggressive pace of rate hikes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.56% fell 0.6%, while the S&P 500 SPX, -1.13% fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.43% dropped 1.4%, according to preliminary FactSet data. Most of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors finished lower, with financial and healthcare being the only areas to see gains. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 4.7 basis points Thursday to 3.458%, while the 2-year Treasury yield jumped 8.9 basis points to 3.871% – the highest since October 31, 2007 based on 3 p.m. Eastern time levels, according to Dow Jones Market Data.