US: Wall St opens lower as banks drag, ECB hikes rates

WALL Street’s main indexes opened lower on Thursday (Mar 16) after shares of First Republic Bank crashed amid fears of a banking crisis, while a large interest rate hike by the European Central Bank also dented sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46.92 points, or 0.15 per cent, at the open to 31,827.65.

The S&P 500 opened lower by 13.00 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 3,878.93, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 49.18 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 11,384.87 at the opening bell. REUTERS