Wall Street stocks tumbled Thursday after another reminder that central banks are now more concerned with fighting inflation than supporting markets, according to AP NEWS..

The S\u0026P 500 fell 2.4%, its ninth loss in the last 10 weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.9%, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.7%.

Wall Street's losses accelerated as the close of trade bell approached as traders struggled to make final moves ahead of the expected U.S. inflation report due Friday morning.. S\u0026P 500 drop more than doubled in last hour of trading.

[see_also ids\u003d"

Market weakness first surfaced on the other side of the Atlantic after the European Central Bank said it would raise interest rates next month for the first time in more than a decade.. Another rate hike slated for September, possibly double July.

And it's the start of a growing global trend of central banks lifting ultra-low interest rates that were supposed to spur borrowing, economic growth and stock prices during the pandemic..

Instead, they have shifted their focus to raising interest rates and other slowdown measures to bring down high inflation..

Recall that the National Bank of Ukraine raised the discount rate to 25%.