Stocks wrap up worst quarter since early ’20

Wall Street racked up more losses for stocks Thursday, as the market closed out its worst quarter since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9%, its fourth consecutive drop. The benchmark index is now down 21% since it hit an all-time high at the beginning of the year. It entered a bear market last month.

All told, the S&P 500’s performance in the first half of 2022 was the worst since the first six months of 1970.

The market’s steep decline this year has all but wiped out its gains from 2021, which was a banner year for the market as it emerged from its previous bear market in early 2020.

Rising inflation has been behind much of the slump for the broader market this year as businesses raise prices on everything from food to clothing and consumers are squeezed tighter.

The Federal Reserve and other central banks have been aggressively raising interest rates to try and slow economic growth in order to cool inflation.

The S&P 500 fell 33.45 points to 3,785.38 Thursday. It lost 16.4% in the April-June quarter, its biggest quarterly decline since it slumped 20% in the first three months of 2020, when the pandemic upended the global economy in a matter of weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 253.88 points, or 0.8%, to 30,775.43. The Nasdaq slid 149.16 points, or 1.3%, to 11,028.74. Small company stocks also fell. The Russell 2000 lost 11.38 points, or 0.7%, to 1,707.99.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set mortgage rates, fell to 3.01% from 3.09% late Wednesday.

Technology companies were among the biggest weights on the market, as investors continued to favor utilities and other traditional defensive stocks. Apple fell 1.8%, while Exelon rose 2.2%.

Retailers and other companies that rely directly on consumer spending also posted some of the biggest losses, as they have all year. Amazon slipped 2.5% and Best Buy shed 2.9%.