NEW YORK, April 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded lower on Thursday with all the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

       Shares of Pinduoduo and JD.com fell 6.86 percent and 5.67 percent, respectively, leading the losses in the top 10 stocks in the index.

       Shares of NIO and Yum China Holdings dipped 5.51 percent and 5.37 percent, respectively, also among the worst performers in the top 10 stocks.

       U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank needs to take more aggressive action to fight high inflation.

       The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 368.03 points, or 1.05 percent, to 34,792.76. The S&P 500 was down 65.79 points, or 1.48 percent, to 4,393.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 278.42 points, or 2.07 percent, to 13,174.65.

       The Cboe Volatility Index, widely considered as the best fear gauge in the stock market, spiked 11.61 percent to 22.68.

       As of Wednesday, the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index, which is designed to track the performance of the 50 largest Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges by total market cap, stood at 2,203.15, marking a 6.18-percent slide for the month-to-date returns and a 26.03-percent loss for the year-to-date returns.