Stocks end lower, nearing but not quite bear market

NEW YORK — Another volatile day on Wall Street ended with more losses for stocks Thursday, drawing the S&P 500 closer to its first bear market since the beginning of the pandemic.

The index, a benchmark for many funds, fell 0.6 percent after easing off a deeper stumble. The latest decline came a day after the S&P 500 had its biggest drop in nearly two years. It’s now down 18.7 percent from the record high it set early this year and is nearly at the 20 percent threshold that defines a bear market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq slipped 0.3 percent.

The indexes have remained mired in a deep slump as investors worry that the soaring inflation that’s hurting people shopping for groceries and filling their cars up is also walloping profits at U.S. companies. Target fell again, a day after losing a quarter of its value on a surprisingly large drop in earnings.