Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday after evidence of a cooling economy exacerbated worries that the Federal Reserve's campaign to rein in decades-high inflation may cause a deep downturn.

All three major indexes fell as data showed US job openings in February dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, suggesting that the labour market was cooling, while factory orders fell for a second straight month.

Data on Monday had also pointed to weakening US manufacturing activity.

"The number of job openings has decreased, which makes people worry that hiring is going too slow, and that will be bad for the economy. That feeds into recessionary fears," said Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ in New York.

Bank stocks took a hit after JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jaime Dimon warned in a letter to shareholders that the US banking crisis is ongoing and that its impact will be felt for years.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co dropped more than 2 percent, and the S&P 500 banks index fell 1.9 percent.

The S&P 500 declined 0.58 percent to end the session at 4,101 points, closing lower for the first time in a week.

The Nasdaq declined 0.52 percnet to 12,126 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.59 percent to 33,403 points.

Caterpillar Inc, viewed as bellwether for the industrial sector, fell 5.4 percent.

Heavyweight chipmaker Nvidia lost 1.8 percent, weighing more than any other stock on the S&P 500's decline.

Virgin Orbit Holdings slumped 23.2 percent after the satellite launch company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on failing to secure long-term funding.

AMC Entertainment Holdings shares tumbled 23.5 percent after the cinema chain said it agreed to settle litigation and proceed with converting its preferred stock into common shares.

Shares of Digital World Acquisition fell 8 percent after the SPAC linked to former US President Donald Trump delayed the filing of its annual financial report. (Reuters)
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Last updated: 2023-04-05 HKT 10:44