Stocks tumbled on Wall Street yesterday after the latest sign of continued US growth brought interest rate worries to the foreground for the first time this week.

The Commerce Department reported that orders to US factories for big-ticket manufactured goods had risen in March for the first time this year. The durable goods report revived fears that the Federal Reserve will continue raising interest rates in an effort to force a slowdown of the economy. Many economists expect the Fed to bump up rates again on May 16th.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 179.32, or 1.6 per cent, to close at 10,945.50. The Nasdaq was down 81.14, or 2.2 per cent, on 3,630.09.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 16.15 to 1,460.99 and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 4.79 to 484.24.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 10-to-9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,533 down, 1,426 up and 494 unchanged.