Loan rate fears send Dow sharply lower

Investors’ growing dread of higher interest rates sent stocks sliding sharply in the United States today, with a solid retail sales report and expectations of higher inflation providing the latest catalyst for a sell-off.

The Commerce Department’s latest retail sales figures showed a larger-than-expected increase in sales, indicating consumers’ hunger for a wide variety of goods. While the data was evidence of an economy on sound footing, it also fed concerns that pent-up demand could drive prices higher.