The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 continued to fall on Tuesday, turning negative for the year as a decline in Target shares continued to pressure retailers, as well as some of the largest technology shares dropping again.
The 30-stock Dow fell 551.80 points to 24,465.64, while the S&P 500 plunged 1.8 percent to close at 2,641.89. Nasdaq Composite also declined 1.7 percent to 6,908.82, though it managed to secure a slight gain for 2018. On the other hand, The Dow and S&P 500 were up 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, for 2018 entering Tuesday.
CNBC reports that stocks hit their lows of the day, following Doubleline Capital founder Jeffrey Gundlach’s claim that “stocks are still too expensive,” adding there has yet to be a “panic low.” The Dow was down roughly 650 points at its session low, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both dropped more than two percent.
Target decreased 10.5 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings for the previous quarter. The company also posted lighter-than-forecast same-store sales – a key metric for retailers.
Thanks to the decline, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) fell 3.4 percent. In addition, Kohl’s, L Brands and Macy’s — which are also in the XRT — fell 9.2 percent, 17.7 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. These declines for retail could not come at a worse time, as the holiday shopping season is a critical period of the year for these companies.
“This looks like lingering worries about what triggered the October decline. That’s worries about an economic slowdown,” said Craig Callahan, president at Icon Funds. “I think these people are wrong, but they’re in control at this time.”