Stocks close sharply lower as tech takes hit

Wall Street experienced more whiplash Wednesday as stocks closed broadly lower, wiping out the market’s gains from the day before.

The S&P 500 fell 2.4 percent after giving up an earlier gain. The selling, which accelerated in the afternoon, was widespread, though technology stocks accounted for the biggest losses. The decline deepens the benchmark index’s September slide to 7.5 percent after a five-month rally.

The market has shifted momentum several times recently. This week alone, a Monday swoon brought the S&P 500 to the edge of a 10 percent drop from its record high set on Sept. 2, what Wall Street calls a correction. It rebounded the following day to snap its first four-day slide since stocks were selling off in

February. Wednesday’s pullback left the S&P 500 within 0.4 percent of a correction.

“There have been 23 bull market corrections since World War II, and the average decline has been 14 percent,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. “I basically see the same kind of decline taking place.”

The S&P 500’s bull market began March 23, the low point in the last bear market for stocks. It’s up 44.7 percent since then.

The S&P 500 fell 78.65 points to 3,236.92. The index is on track for its fourth-straight weekly decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 525.05 points, or 1.9 percent, to 26,763.13. The Nasdaq composite slid 330.65 points, or 3 percent, to 10,632.99. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks gave up 45.50 points, or 3 percent, to 1,451.46.