US: Dow ends 2.0% lower amid fears of government shutdown

[NEW YORK] Wall Street suffered its second straight rout on Thursday as worries about a government shutdown added to upset at the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate hike.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 22,850.72, down 2.0 per cent.

The broad-based S&P 500 slid 1.6 per cent to 2,467.16, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slumped 1.7 per cent to 6,526.29.

A bruising December has set up Wall Street for its worst year since the financial crisis.

AFP