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Stocks on Wednesday had their steepest losses in over two years, following disappointing earnings from U.S. retail behemoths Target, Walmart and Lowe's.
By the numbers: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,164 points, representing a 3.57% decline. The Nasdaq was off 4.73% and the S&P 500 shed 4.04%.
- It's the fourth time in 2022 that the Dow has fallen by more than 900 points, something that never happened in 2021.
- Of the 12 times the Dow has ever fell more than 1,000 points, two of them happened this month.
- The Nasdaq is now down nearly 28% for the year, while the S&P 500 is off 18.2%.
What they're saying: "The Charlie Brown shirt market continues, with big moves up and down seemingly every day." — Ryan Detrick, Chief Market Strategist, LPL Financial
The bottom line: Retail results caused investors to worry that corporate America's inflation-defying act may be in jeopardy, even if it isn't showing up in consumer data.