Wall Street tumbles

US FIRMS ramped up hiring last month while wages rose at the fastest pace for nearly nine years – sending shares on Wall Street tumbling as investors worried about higher interest rates.

In a boost to Donald Trump and his plans to turbocharge the economy, the number in work rose by 200,000 in January after a 160,000 increase in December. At the same time, average hourly earnings were 2.9pc than higher than a year earlier, the biggest increase since June 2009.

With the unemployment rate holding firm at 4.1pc, analysts said the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates four times this year to stop the economy overheating. The next hike is expected in March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, fell 556 points to 25,630 as investors bet that rates would rise faster than previously thought.

Nicholas Colas, co-founder of financial markets group Data Trek Research, said that the prospect of higher rates ‘ is certainly beginning to concern the markets’.

Analysts said wages are likely to pick up further in the coming months after Trump slashed corporation tax.