Markets mixed on jitters after missile lands in Poland

NEW York — Retailers, technology companies and technology companies led a wide slide for stocks Wednesday, after Target’s poor financial report overshadowed by a positive report from the government on the retail sector.

The S&P 500 lost 0.8%, wiping away most of its gains from the previous day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.1%, while the Nasdaq lost 1.5%.

Discouraging quarterly updates from Target and other retailers put investors in a selling mood, despite a report showing that U.S. retail sales remained strong last month.

Target slumped 13.1% after cutting its forecasts for the holiday season following a surprisingly big drop in its third-quarter profits. The retailer also stated that its sales have been declining in recent weeks.

” I think the market may be saying that the wider data we have is OK. But Target’s forecasts for the holiday season are a little more forward-looking than what we have. Willie Delwiche is an investment strategist at All Star Charts. The market was also affected by

Other retails. Advance Auto Parts fell 15.1% after reporting weak financial results. Best Buy fell 8.6% Macy’s reported its financial results on Thursday. It fell 8.1%.

Big technology firms also dropped. Micron Technology, a chipmaker, fell 6.7% after it announced production cuts due to weak demand. Nvidia fell 4.5%.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 32. 94 points to 3,958.79. The Dow slid 39. 09 points to 33,553.83. 174. was dropped by the tech-heavy Nasdaq. 75 points to 11,183.66.

Smaller stock prices also lost ground. The Russell 2000 index fell 36. 04 points, or 1.9%, to 1,853.17. Wall Street has been closely following the latest economic news, including reports that wholesale and consumer prices are continuing to cool. The market’s previous rally was due to the hope that inflation will ease, which could mean less aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate hikes.

The Fed has been increasing interest rates to slow down the economy and control the hottest inflation for decades. Wall Street is concerned that the Fed could halt economic growth too severely and cause a recession.

The latest government report on October retail sales shows that consumer spending is strong. However, it’s not clear if this is due to higher prices or more purchases.

Strong consumer spending is a positive sign for the economy. However, it could make the Fed’s strategy to cool the economy more difficult. Already, the central bank raised its overnight key rate to a range between 3. 75% to 4% from virtually zero earlier this year. It stated that it plans to raise rates further and then keep them at this high rate for a while to reduce inflation.

” The better-than-expected retail sales results do not support the claim that the Fed” can relax its campaign to slow down the economy with high rates of interest, said Tom Hainlin (national investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management). He said that resilient consumer spending could increase the chance that the Fed can pull off a “soft landing” by implementing its strategy. This would allow the Fed to control inflation without causing a recession or at least avoid a devastating recession.

Bond yields were mixed. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, fell to 3. 69% from 3. 78% from late Tuesday. The yield on the Treasury’s two-year note rose to 4. 37% from 4. 35% from late Tuesday.

Markets fell in Europe as investors viewed developments in Russia’s war with Ukraine. Two people were killed and two others were injured when a missile struck farmland in Poland, which is a NATO member. The president of Poland and NATO’s chief said that there is no evidence that the missile was an intentional attack. He also suggested that Ukraine may have launched the Soviet-era projectile while it was trying to fend off a Russian air attack.

” There is absolutely nothing to suggest that this was an intentional attack against Poland,” stated Andrzej Duda, Polish President.

The conflict is hanging over energy markets. An increase in tension in Ukraine could lead to a spike in oil, gas, and other commodities produced in the region. The U.S. crude oil price initially rose before falling 1.5% later.

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Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.