US Stock Market: DJIA, S&P500, Nasdaq and Russell ended over 1% down on Wednesday

Stocks dropped broadly on Wall Street on Wednesday, but crude oil prices jumped dramatically again, as a wave of selling almost erased the day’s gains and left the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average in the negative for the week.

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The S&P 500 slid 1.2%, with more than 80% of the companies in the benchmark index finishing down. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite both fell 1.3%.

Concerns on Wall Street have grown over consistently high inflation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove up energy and other commodity prices even more. Concerns that the conflict may worsen an already tight market have caused crude oil prices to rise. Price fluctuations have pushed and pulled the larger stock market.

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The S&P 500 fell 55.37 points to 4,456.24. The Dow slid 448.96 points to 34,358.50. Both indexes are now on pace for a weekly loss. The Nasdaq fell 186.21 points to 13,922.60. Smaller company stocks also lost ground. The Russell 2000 fell 36.14 points, or 1.7%, to 2,052.21.

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The selling was widespread, with technology, health care and financial stocks among the biggest weights on the S&P 500 index. Microsoft fell 1.5% and Abbott Laboratories slid 4.1%. Retailers and communications companies also lost ground.

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Energy stocks rose as crude oil prices climbed more than 5%. Hess rose 4.6% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. U.S. benchmark crude oil rose 5.2% to settle at $114.93 per barrel, while a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 5.3% to settle at $121.60. Prices are up more than 50% in 2022 so far, raising concerns about the impact on a wide range of consumer goods and consumer spending overall.

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Bond yields have been rising overall as the market prepares for higher interest rates, but they eased back Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.29% from 2.37% from Tuesday.

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Adobe fell 9.3% after giving investors a disappointing financial forecast and warned that halting sales in Russia and Belarus will impact its revenue. Metal manufacturer Worthington Industries slid 17% after reporting disappointing fiscal third-quarter profits. Homebuilders fell sharply after the government reported that sales of new U.S. homes fell 2% in February from a downwardly revised sales total in January. D.R. Horton slid 5.1% and Tri Pointe Homes fell 5.9%.