Most stocks marched lower Wednesday as stubbornly sticky inflation has Wall Street bracing for interest rates to stay higher for longer. The S&P 500 fell 18.76 points, or 0.5%, to 3,951.39 in its first trading after coming off a frigid February. The Dow rose 5.14 points, less than 0.1%, to 32,661.84, and the Nasdaq fell 76.06 points, or 0.7%, to 11,379.48. Wall Street got another reminder of inflation's stubbornness from the latest report to show that US manufacturing is weakening, the AP reports. A report from the Institute for Supply Management said that a measure of prices paid rose in February and hit its highest level since September. "The biggest risk to markets is an economy that stagnates yet continues to struggle with nagging inflation pressures," said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial, in a note to investors.
Several big-name retailers have already offered discouraging forecasts for the upcoming year given the challenges US households are facing because of high inflation and other factors. Kohl’s fell 1.9% after it joined them. It also said it swung to a surprise loss for the three months through Jan. 28. Ross Stores edged up 0.1% after spending most of the day lower despite reporting better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It gave a forecast for profit this upcoming year that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Vaccine company Novavax tumbled 25.9% after it warned there’s "substantial doubt" about its ability to stay in business over the next year. It reported a net loss of $657.9 million for the last year.
Lowe’s fell 5.6% for one of the largest losses in the S&P 500 after it reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than expected. On the winning side was First Solar, which jumped 15.7% after it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than expected and continued bookings for the future.
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