S&P 500 closes lower after Target’s warning drags on retail stocks, Nasdaq falls 1.5%; European markets close 1% lower as geopolitical tensions rise after Poland missile incident
The S&P 500 fell on Wednesday as investors weighed a gloomy holiday quarter update from Target that pressured retail stocks. The S&P 500 ended the day down 0.7% at 33,601.98 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.3% to 11,188.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average wrestled with the flat line all day, but finished down 0.06% at 33,565.10.
Those moves came after Target reported a decline in sales as families deal with high inflation heading into the biggest shopping season of the year for retailers. The warning weighed on stocks, sending Target down more than 13% and on pace for its worst day since May. Shares of the big box retailer tumbled after the company said its profit fell by around 50% in its fiscal third quarter and cut its fourth-quarter outlook, after seeing sales slow in late October. Other retail names such as Macy’s, Gap and Nordstrom followed Target lower. Macy’s, Nordstrom, Kohl’s and Gap were also down big.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed down 1%, with retail and autos both shedding 3.5% to lead losses. The food and beverages and insurance sectors posted 0.2% gains.
The autos sector posted the biggest losses in afternoon trading after Mercedes-Benz said it had cut prices on some of its electric models in China.
The German luxury manufacturer traded down 5.3%, but other car makers also suffered, with Porsche down 5.6% and Volvo Car’s Sweden-listed shares falling 7%.
Source: CNBC, Investing.com