Stock market closes out worst quarter in 2 years

A late burst of selling left stocks broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday, as the market closed out its worst quarter since the pandemic broke out two years ago.

Despite posting a 3.6% gain for March, a dismal January and February left U.S. indexes lower for the year to date. The S&P 500 ended the day 1.6% lower, bringing its loss since the beginning of the year to 4.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 1.5%. Both indexes also notched gains for March, thanks largely to a market rally in the two weeks heading into this week.

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.

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.

“Yesterday’s weakness and some weakness today may be in response to sentiment that’s a little more cautious given the recent strength in the last two weeks and the ongoing uncertainty related to inflation and earnings,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.

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.