Dow closes below 10,000 amid rate fears

Interest rate fears drove a major sell-off on Wall Street today, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing below 10,000 for the first time since December 10 and sending all three major indexes to their lows for the year.

The dread that has sent stocks tumbling over the past four weeks intensified after Friday’s employment report from the Labour Department – the United States gained 288,000 new jobs in April.