Wall Street down as rate-hike outlook remains hazy

By Abhiram Nandakumar

REUTERS - Wall Street was lower on Tuesday as investors fretted over renewed uncertainties about the Federal Reserve's plan to raise interest rates this year.

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned on Tuesday of increasing risks to global economic growth, unless there were stronger measures by policymakers.

Lagarde's comments come a week after Fed Chair Janet Yellen urged caution on rate hikes, citing a shaky global economy and low oil prices.

However, some Fed officials called for an aggressive monetary policy, sparking concerns about the timing and the number of rate hikes this year.

While the Fed has projected two hikes in 2016, traders are pricing in only one, with an even chance that the central bank may pull the trigger in June, according to the CME Group's FedWatch program.

Nervous investors pushed up gold, a traditional safe-haven, by more than 1 percent.

"It's looking down just because you have a general environment of uncertainty," said Lisa Kopp, head of traditional investments at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

"The recovery is long in the tooth and there has been a lot of market moving news," she said, referring to comments by Lagarde and Fed policymakers, as well as the volatility in oil prices.

Crude was under pressure after data showed U.S. gasoline demand unexpectedly fell in January and skepticism rose about a possible deal to cut global oversupply.

Data on Tuesday showed the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in February, while the Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing activity rose to 54.5 in March, ahead of the 54 estimated.

At 11:03 a.m. ET (1303 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was down 103.37 points, or 0.58 percent, at 17,633.63, the S&P 500 was down 17.72 points, or 0.86 percent, at 2,048.41 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 33.60 points, or 0.69 percent, at 4,858.20.

All 10 major S&P sectors were lower, led by the 1.73 percent fall in the rate-sensitive utilities sector.

The S&P financials sector fell 1.2 percent, led by Wells Fargo's 1.5 percent decline, while Goldman Sachs was the biggest drag on the Dow.

Allergan shares fell 17 percent to $230.79 as the U.S. Treasury unveiled rules to curb tax inversion deals, potentially derailing the drugmaker's merger with Pfizer. Pfizer was up about 1 percent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,151 to 724. On the Nasdaq, 1,728 issues fell and 843 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed 11 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 14 new highs and 21 new lows.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan and Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)