NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks retreated early Thursday after better-than-expected US employment data added to worries about Federal Reserve monetary policy.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note – a proxy for Fed interest rates – rose following a survey from payroll firm ADP that showed a jump of 235,000 private-sector jobs in December, more than expected.

The survey follows Wednesday Fed minutes that continued to suggest a hard line on inflation following multiple interest rate hikes in 2022.

Markets will absorb more jobs data on Friday with the release of the government’s official employment report.

Wall Street drops as Apple, energy stocks decline

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.2 percent at 32,882.35.

The broad-based S&P 500 also fell 1.2 percent to 3,808.49, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.4 percent to 10,311.54.

Among individual companies, Amazon shed 1.1 percent as it announced it was cutting 18,000 jobs in the largest downsizing in the online giant’s history.

Bed Bath & Beyond sank more than 23 percent as it warned that there is “substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” a sign it could file for bankruptcy.

The retailer said it expected a loss of $386 million in the just-finished quarter.