Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street Wednesday as dismal results from Target renewed fears that inflation is battering U.S. companies.

The S&P 500, the benchmark for many index funds, slumped. Target lost a quarter of its value, dragging other retailers down with it, after saying its profit fell by half in the latest quarter as costs for freight and transportation spiked. That comes a day after Walmart cited inflation for its own weak results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq also pulled back sharply. Treasury yields fell as investors sought safer ground.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 fell 165.17 points, or 4%, to 3,923.68.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,164.52 points, or 3.6%, to 31,490.07.

The Nasdaq fell 566.37 points, or 4.7%, to 11,418.15.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 65.45 points, or 3.6%, to 1,774.85.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 100.21 points, or 2.5%.

The Dow is down 706.59 points, or 2.2%.

The Nasdaq is down 386.85 points, or 3.3%.

The Russell 2000 is down 17.82 points, or 1%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is down 842.50 points, or 17.7%.

The Dow is down 4,848.23 points, or 13.3%.

The Nasdaq is down 4,226.82 points, or 27%.

The Russell 2000 is down 470.47 points, or 21%.

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