Stocks on Wall Street were generally down Thursday after a late spurt of selling, as the market ended its worst quarter since the pandemic broke out two years ago.

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Despite a 3.6% recovery in March, a poor January and February left US indices down for the year. The S&P 500 finished the day 1.6% down, extending its year-to-date loss to 4.9%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.5%. Both indices gained ground in March, owing primarily to a market rise in the two weeks preceding this week.

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Oil prices fell as President Joe Biden ordered the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve. The move to pump more oil into the market is part of an effort to control energy prices, which are up nearly 40% globally this year.

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Wall Street’s downbeat finish to March comes as investors try to navigate the market risks amid surging inflation, geopolitical instability and uncertainty over how aggressively the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates to quash inflation.

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The S&P 500 fell 72.04 points to 4,530.41. The Dow fell 550.46 points to 34,678.35, and the Nasdaq slid 221.76 points to 14,220.52. Smaller company stocks also fell. The Russell 2000 index dropped 20.94 points, or 1%, to 2,070.13.

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Technology and communications stocks were among the biggest weights on the market. Many of the companies in those sectors have pricey stock values that tend to give the broader market a more forceful push either up or down. Chipmaker Intel fell 3.6%, while Facebook parent Meta Platforms slid 2.4%.

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Banks also fell along with bond yields, which forces interest rates on loans lower, making lending less profitable for banks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.34% from 2.36% late Wednesday. Bank of America fell 4.1%.

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U.S. crude oil prices fell 7% and Brent, the international standard, fell 4.9%. The pullback slightly trimmed what have been soaring oil prices amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has elevated concerns that tightened supplies will only worsen persistently rising inflation that threatens businesses and consumers globally.

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An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, marking the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982.