The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.0% in early trading but ended the day more moderately lower, down 26.63 points (0.4%) at 19,962.36. The Nasdaq also slid 93.89 points (0.5%) to 19,962.36 after tumbling as much as 1.3%.
The early sell-off on Wall Street came amid a slump by shares of Walmart (WMT), with the retail giant and Dow component plunging by 6.5%. Labor Department released a report showing a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 15th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 219,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 214,000. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also released a report showing Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in the month of February, although the index of activity in the sector pulled back sharply.
Financial stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances, with the KBW Bank Index and NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index tumbling by 2.4% and 1.9%, respectively. Walmart declined which also weighed on the retail sector, as reflected by the 1.9% loss posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index. Gold and oil producer stocks moved upwards amid increases by the prices of their associated commodities.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.2%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.6%. The major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2%, the German DAX Index fell by 0.5% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.6%.
In the bond market, treasuries moved to the upside after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 3.5 bps to 4.50%.