NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as a more hawkish Federal Reserve unnerved investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 392.54 points, or 1.07 percent, to 36,407.11. The S&P 500 fell 92.96 points, or 1.94 percent, to 4,700.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 522.54 points, or 3.34 percent, to 15,100.17.

All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with real estate and technology down 3.22 percent and 3.13 percent, respectively, leading the losses.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with nine of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials anticipated earlier and faster interest rate hikes than previously expected as the economy continues to recover and inflation remains elevated, according to the minutes of the Fed’s December policy meeting released Wednesday.

Rising interest rates could make stocks, particularly high-flying technology stocks, less attractive, since their valuations are based on future growth and cash flow. When interest rates rise, the value of that future cash flow is discounted.

On the economic front, payroll data company Automatic Data Processing reported Wednesday that private companies in the United States added 807,000 jobs in December, easily beating market expectations.