The S&P 500 and Nasdaq recorded their seventh consecutive week of losses, their longest losing streak since the end of the dotcom bubble in 2001.
The Dow suffered its eighth consecutive weekly decline, the longest since 1932, during the Great Depression.
Fears of runaway inflation and rising interest rates have plagued the US stock market this year, with danger signals put out by Walmart Inc. and other retailers this week adding to fears about the economy.
The S&P 500 spent most of the session in negative territory and at one point was down just over 20% from its record close on Jan. 3, before ending down 18% above this level and to remain stable for the day.
A close down 20% from that all-time high would confirm that the S&P 500 has been in a bear market since hitting that high in January, by one common definition.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq’s latest decline was around 27% from its record close in November 2021.
Chart: S&P 500 bear markets –
Weighing heavily on the S&P 500, Tesla tumbled 6.4% after chief executive Elon Musk slammed a news report’s claims that he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a jet as “completely untrue”. private in 2016.
Other mega-cap stocks also fell, with Alphabet Inc, owner of Apple Google, down 1.3% and Nvidia down 2.5%.
Shares of Deere & Co fell 14% after the heavy-equipment maker posted falling quarterly revenue.
Pfizer rose 3.6%, helping the S&P 500 avoid a loss for the day.
Recent disappointing forecasts from major retailers Walmart, Kohl’s Corp and Target Inc have rattled market sentiment, adding to evidence that rising prices have begun to hurt the purchasing power of US consumers.
Ross Stores plunged 22.5% on Friday after the discount clothing retailer cut its 2022 sales and profit forecast, while Vans brand owner VF Corp gained 6.1% thanks to strong revenue outlook for 2023.
Traders expect 50 basis point rate hikes from the US central bank in June and July.
The S&P 500 edged up 0.01% to end the session at 3,901.36 points.
The Nasdaq fell 0.30% to 11,354.62 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.03% to 31,261.90 points.
Chart: The most active trades in the S&P 500 –
For the week, the S&P 500 fell 3.0%, the Dow lost 2.9% and the Nasdaq fell 3.8%.
About two-thirds of S&P 500 stocks are down 20% or more from their 52-week high.
Volume on US exchanges was 13.0 billion shares, compared to an average of 13.5 billion over the past 20 trading days.
Falling stocks outnumbered rising stocks on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.16 to 1; in the Nasdaq, a ratio of 1.24 to 1 favored the bearers.
The S&P 500 posted 1 new 52-week high and 48 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 11 new highs and 353 new lows.