U.S. stocks book worst day in about a month after strong services data puts Fed hikes back in focus

U.S. stock indexes posted their worst day in nearly a month on Monday as hotter-than-expected reading on the U.S. services sector fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates more aggressively to subdue inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.40%
finished 482 points lower, or 1.4%, to 33,947. The S&P 500
SPX,
-1.79%
dropped 1.8% to close below 4,000-level for the first time in nearly a week, while the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-1.93%
slumped 1.9%. A barometer of U.S. business conditions at service-sector companies rose to 56.5% in November, a strong signal that the economy is still expanding at a steady pace but raising concerns that the central bank will continue hiking rate aggressively at its December 13-14 meeting. The yield on the 10-year note rose 9.6 basis points to 3.598% on Monday.