NEW YORK, Dec 15 — Wall Street stocks tumbled early today on disappointing US retail sales as the ECB and other central banks followed the Federal Reserve in hiking interest rates again.

US retail sales slumped 0.6 per cent in November from October to US$689.4 billion, a bigger drop than expected as persistently high inflation pressures shoppers during the key festive season.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England were among the central banks lifting interest rates, with both increasing by 50 basis points.

"Inflation remains far too high and is projected to stay above the target for too long," the ECB governing council said in a statement ahead of the press conference.

"Interest rates will still have to rise significantly at a steady pace," they said.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.3 per cent at 33,521.66.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.5 per cent to 3,937.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.7 per cent to 10,985.91.

Investors were still digesting the Fed's decision yesterday to enact a half-percentage point interest rate increase as Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled more action would be needed in 2023 to reduce pricing pressures.

December is normally a strong month for investors, but so far it "has not lived up yet to its advanced billing that it is a typically good month for the stock market," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare, who said major indices have been down 1.8 to 3.5 per cent.

"In other word on this December morn: 'Bah humbug!'" — AFP