Major indices in the US stock market closed lower Thursday after hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. 

A half-point rate hike will be on the table for the May meeting to get inflation down to the 2% goal, Powell said at an International Monetary Fund panel.

The blue-chip Dow Jones fell 368.5 points, or 1.05%, to close at 34,792.

The S&P 500 decreased 64 points, or 1.44%, to end at 4,395.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 278.4 points, or 2.07%, to finish at 13,174.

At the final bell, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, soared 12.9% to 22.94.

The dollar index rose 0.18% to 100.6, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes declined 0.15% to 2.892%.

Precious metals were on the decline, with gold falling 0.10% to $1,953 and silver rising 2.08% to $24.7.

Crude oil prices were up more than 1% as global markets considered the possibility of a EU ban on Russian oil and gas, while Libyan production cuts last week raised shortage concerns.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading at $108.29, up 1.40%, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $103.75 -- a 1.53% gain./aa