U.S. stocks fell sharply, with two of the major indexes suffering their worst day since 2020, as the latest set of disappointing earnings from large retailers raised investors' fears of a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Wednesday down 1164.52 points, or 3.6%, to 31490.07, its lowest closing level since March 2021. The S&P 500 dropped 4%, or 165.17 points, to 3923.68, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite slid 4.7%, or 566.37 points, to 11418.15. The Dow and S&P recorded their worst percentage declines since June 11, 2020. The moves marked a U-turn from a day earlier, when technology shares led a rebound in markets.
Major retailers said their profits were hurt by rising costs, sluggish sales and supply-chain disruptions. Shares of Target sank 25%, or $53.67, to $161.61 after the company posted quarterly earnings that missed analysts' expectations, its worst one-day performance since Black Monday in 1987. Shares of Dollar Tree, Dollar General and Costco Wholesale recorded their largest single-day percentage declines in years -- in Costco's case, since 2003.
The results are prompting Wall Street to wrestle anew with the idea that the global economy could be headed for a recession. Though that debate is far from settled, it has rattled stocks and other risky assets throughout the year, with the latest data illustrating the degree to which inflation has hit U.S. consumers.
"Inflation is hitting every aspect of an earnings report, whether it be the transportation side or supply-chain disruption," said Nick Giacoumakis, president and founder of NEIRG Wealth Management. "Customers are no longer buying the more expensive items they would typically buy. All this trickles through to an earnings report."
Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, fell $2.82, or 2.5%, to $109.11 a barrel, another indicator of investors' worries about economic growth. Oil prices have been highly reactive in recent months to both Russia's war against Ukraine, which could disrupt supplies, and lockdowns in Chinese cities that sap demand. Shanghai's government has begun preparing the city for reopening.
At the forefront of investors' minds is decades-high inflation in the U.S., how much policy makers are willing to do to subdue it and what changes in monetary policy mean for economic growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank's resolve in combating inflation shouldn't be questioned, even if the steps required push up unemployment.
Walmart shares fell 6.8%, or $8.92, to $122.43, extending losses from Tuesday after the retailer reported that it is getting squeezed by higher food prices and other rising costs. Lowe's fell 5.3%, or $10.21, to $183.82 after the home-improvement retailer posted a drop in first-quarter sales Wednesday.
"We're seeing a continued shift in the composition of consumption, moving away from goods and back toward services," said Garrett Melson, a portfolio strategist at Natixis Investment Managers. "Naturally, that's going to weigh on these goods retailers."
Consumer discretionary and consumer staples were the worst-performing sectors in the S&P 500 Wednesday. Both recorded their largest single-day percentage losses since March 2020.
The war in Ukraine and China's zero-Covid strategy have also shaken up markets. Declines have been widespread. Bonds, typically a haven, have been falling alongside stocks.
"Our expectation is that growth will start to slow down over the next few months," said Salman Ahmed, global head of macro at Fidelity International, adding that he anticipates that the Fed's actions will help curb inflation. "Then the next step for the Fed will be to focus on the growth shock."
The mix of concerns hitting markets has led Mr. Ahmed to adopt a more cautious investment approach in recent weeks, he said.
Investors are also monitoring whether Russia's war against Ukraine could further bolster geopolitical tension. Finland and Sweden formally applied for NATO membership on Wednesday, a move that, if approved, would fundamentally transform the security landscape of Northern Europe.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note declined to 2.884% from 2.969% Tuesday. Yields and prices move inversely.
Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 closed down 1.1%. The British pound fell 1.2% against the dollar after fresh figures showed that U.K. annual inflation reached a four-decade high of 9% in April as higher energy prices fed through households' utility bills.
In Asia, new data showed that Japan's economy contracted in the first three months of this year, when restrictions related to a resurgence of Covid-19 infections held back consumer spending. Despite that, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.9% higher.
South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng each added 0.2% Wednesday. China's Shanghai Composite declined about 0.2%.
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