S&P 500 falls again on Thursday, inching closer to bear market territory; European stocks close lower as inflation fears rattle global markets; Stoxx 600 down 1.4% 
The S&P 500 fell Thursday as the benchmark inched closer to a bear market. Investors continued to dump equities on fears Federal Reserve rate hikes to fight rapid inflation would tip the economy into a recession. 
The broad market index fell 0.58% to 3,900.79, after falling 4% on Wednesday. The index is teetering on bear market territory sitting about 19% below its record reached in January. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 236.94 points, or 0.75%, to 31,253.13 — a day after it too experienced the biggest one-day drop since 2020 in the prior session, losing 1,164 points. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.26% to 11,388.50 — following a 4.7% decline on Wednesday. 
Cisco was the latest major company to plunge on results with the tech bellwether down 13.7% on Thursday. Cisco said after the bell Wednesday that quarterly revenue fell short of analysts expectations and it warned revenue would disappoint in the current quarter. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed down 1.4%, with food and beverages shedding 3.6% to lead losses as all sectors and major bourses slid into negative territory. 
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, Royal Mail plunged more than 12% after missing profit expectations and flagging plans for more cost cuts. 
Source: CNBC, Investing.com