How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday

The Associated Press

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%.