Wall Street closed sharply lower on Wednesday, and Target lost regarding a quarter of the market value of its shares, highlighting concern over the US economy following retail companies became the latest victim of price jumps.
The benchmark S&P 500 index posted its worst one-day loss since June 2020.
Target’s shares plunged 25% following its first-quarter profit halved, its biggest loss since the Black Monday crash on October 19, 1987.
Target’s results came a day following rival Walmart cut its earnings forecast.
Shares of major interest rate-sensitive growth companies extended losses and pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 and Nasdaq indexes lower, and Tesla, Nvidia, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft closed sharply lower.
The eleven sectors listed in the Standard & Poor’s 500 declined, led by the shares of consumer products companies.
Financial markets have been hit by rising inflation, the war in Ukraine, supply chains and shutdowns in China and tightening monetary policy from central banks, which are raising concerns regarding a global economic slowdown.
According to preliminary data, the Standard & Poor’s 500 ended trading down 163.59 points, or 4.00%, to 3925.18 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 561.50 points, or 4.69%, to close at 11423.03 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1148.11 points, or 3.52%, to 3,1506.48 points.