How major US stock indexes fared Thursday

The Associated Press

Stocks ended another volatile day lower on Wall Street Thursday, bringing the market closer to its first bear market since the beginning of the pandemic. The S&P 500, the benchmark for many index funds, fell and is now down 18.7% from the record high it set early this year, nearly at the 20% threshold that defines a bear market. Investors are worrying that the soaring inflation that’s hurting people shopping for groceries and filling their cars up is also walloping profits at U.S. companies. Target fell again, a day after losing a quarter of its value on a surprisingly large drop in earnings.