Stocks closed lower and bond yields jumped Tuesday as remarks by a Federal Reserve governor fueled expectations on Wall Street that the central bank is prepared to more aggressively raise interest rates and take other steps in a bid to tame surging inflation.

The S&P 500 fell 1.3 per cent after shedding a modest early gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq slid 2.3 per cent. It sets up the Australian sharemarket for losses, with futures at 6.59am AEST pointing to a fall of 48 points, or 0.6 per cent, at the open.

The S&P 500 had its first loss in three days. It notched three straight weekly gains coming into this week, during which the market regained some of its footing after a skid in January and February as rising inflation, uncertainty over the Fed’s next interest rate policy moves and the war in Ukraine rattled Wall Street.

That recent market strength may be giving the Fed the leeway to raise interest rates more aggressively, said Zach Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments.

“Against that backdrop, things have obviously changed and the Fed is willing to ratchet up their hawkishness a bit,” Hill said.

The S&P 500 fell 57.52 points to 4,525.12. The Dow slid 280.70 points to 34,641.18, and the Nasdaq dropped 328.39 points to 14,204.17.

Smaller company stocks fell more than the broader market. The Russell 2000 lost 49.40 points, or 2.4 per cent, to close at 2,046.04.

Weakness from big technology stocks weighed down the broader market the most. Companies in the sector, with their pricey valuations, tend to push the market higher or lower more forcefully. Chipmaker Qualcomm fell 5.4 per cent.

Twitter rose another 2 per cent after disclosing an arrangement with Tesla chief Elon Musk that will give him a board seat but also limit how much of the company he can buy while he’s a director. The company disclosed a day earlier that the mercurial billionaire and Twitter critic had become the company’s largest shareholder.