Global stocks tumble after Fed signals faster rate hikes

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks and Wall Street futures have tumbled after investors saw minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting as a sign the U.S. central bank might hike interest rates faster to cool inflation. Benchmarks in London and Frankfurt opened down more than 1%. Tokyo lost nearly 3%. Notes from the Fed meeting last month showed policymakers believe the U.S. job market is nearly healthy enough that ultra-low rates are no longer needed. Traders took that as a sign the Fed might be more aggressive about rolling back stimulus that is boosting stock prices. On Wall Street, the future for the benchmark S&P 500 index was off 0.3% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%.