NEW YORK, New York – U.S. stocks dived on Tuesday amidst concern about rising inflation and the prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes.

Whilst negative for stocks, the mood was positive for the U.S. dollar which continued its extended rally.

“There’s a lot of anxiety ahead of the earnings which are coming up Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday just because if they don’t hold up, then there’s nothing left to hold up the market,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital LLC in New York.

The Dow Jones industrials plunged 809.28 points or 2.38 percent to close Tuesday at 33,240.18.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 514.11 points or 3.95 percent to 12,490.20.

The Standard and Poor’s 500mtumbled 120.92 points or 2.81 percent to 4,175.20.

On foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar forged ahead. The embattled euro crumbled to a new two-year low at 1.0638. The British pound tumbled to 1.2583 around the New York close Tuesday. The Swiss franc dived to 0.9623.

The Canadian dollar was sharply lower at 1.2813. The Australian dollar fell to 0.7135. The New Zealand dollar dived to 0.6572. On ly the Japanese yen gained, it rose to 127.50.

Overseas, the Dax in Germany fell 1.20 percent. The Paris-based CAC 40 was down 0.54 percent. London’s FTSE 100 added 0.08 percent.

The Australian All Ordinaries was the Asian Pacific region’s worst performer, shedding 152.40 points or 1.96 percent to 7,615.80.

In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 dropped 95.22 points or 0.80 percent to 11,813.18.

South Korea’s Kospi Composite declined 11.18 points or 0.42 percent to 2,668.31.

In China, the Shanghai Composite added to Monday’s substantial losses with another 42.09 points, or 1.44 percent, loss to 2,886.43.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 went against the trend, rising 109.33 points or 0.41 percent to 26,700.11.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 65.37 points or 0.33 percent to 19,934.71.