Stocks slip on Wall Street, erase weekly gains for S&P 500

Stocks on Wall Street closed broadly lower Wednesday as drops by big technology companies wiped out the S&P 500’s gains for the week.

The benchmark index fell 0.7%, snapping a threeday winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% and the techheavy Nasdaq slid 1.3%.

Small-company stocks fell more sharply than the rest of the market, pulling the Russell 2000 1.6% lower.

Traders focused on a mix of retail updates that indicate inflation pressure continues to affect businesses and consumers, but also shows that spending remains strong. A government report showed retail sales were flat last month, and Target shares slumped after the retail chain reported a nearly 90% skid in quarterly profits.

“You saw Target coming out and being softer than we thought, so maybe it spooked investors a little bit,” said Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer at Defiance ETFS.

“It’s a small correction from the bear market rally.”

The S&P 500 slipped 31.16 points to 4,274.04. The loss pulled the index 0.1% lower so far this week.

The Dow dropped 171.69 points to 33,980.32, while the Nasdaq fell 164.43 points to 12,938.12. The Russell 2000 slid 33.22 points to 1,987.31. Trading has been choppy throughout the week as the benchmark S&P 500 comes off a four-week winning streak.

Wall Street has been closely reviewing the latest economic data and corporate updates to get a better sense of how inflation is affecting businesses and consumers and whether the hottest inflation in 40 years is peaking or beginning to cool.

Investors are also monitoring inflation to determine how much further central banks have to go in their fight against higher prices.

Sales at U.S. retailers were unchanged last month, according to the Commerce Department, and econmists had expected a slight increase in July.