Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street Wednesday as dismal results from Target renewed fears that inflation is battering U.S. companies.
The S&P 500, the benchmark for many index funds, slumped. Target lost a quarter of its value, dragging other retailers down with it, after saying its profit fell by half in the latest quarter as costs for freight and transportation spiked. That comes a day after Walmart cited inflation for its own weak results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq also pulled back sharply. Treasury yields fell as investors sought safer ground.
On Wednesday:
The S&P 500 fell 165.17 points, or 4%, to 3,923.68.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,164.52 points, or 3.6%, to 31,490.07.
The Nasdaq fell 566.37 points, or 4.7%, to 11,418.15.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 65.45 points, or 3.6%, to 1,774.85.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 100.21 points, or 2.5%.
The Dow is down 706.59 points, or 2.2%.
The Nasdaq is down 386.85 points, or 3.3%.
The Russell 2000 is down 17.82 points, or 1%.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is down 842.50 points, or 17.7%.
The Dow is down 4,848.23 points, or 13.3%.
The Nasdaq is down 4,226.82 points, or 27%.
The Russell 2000 is down 470.47 points, or 21%.