Wednesday, 1 May 2024: US equity markets retreated, extending losses in the final hour of trading

US equity markets retreated, extending losses in the final hour of trading as wage growth data dealt another blow to the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation ahead of the central bank concluding its two-day monetary policy meeting tomorrow morning AEST - Dow fell -570-points or -1.49%, the largest one-day percentage decline for the 30-stock index since March 22, 2023. Economic bellwether Caterpillar Inc dropped -4.35%, while Boeing Co (-3.26%), Chevron Corp (-3.04%) and Microsoft Corp (-3.21%) fell over >3%. Walmart Inc fell -1.48% after announcing it was abandoning its push into low-cost health centres amid mounting costs.