One of the major indices, the S&P 500, is down more than 2% for the week. Those losses are accompanied by two earnings reports from consumer behemoths, Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) and Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), which showed higher fuel costs, higher wages and supply chain constraints denting profits amid the highest inflation in the last four decades.
Despite consumer demand being high and companies getting away with passing off higher production costs via higher prices, the S&P 500 is sliding into bear market territory amid fears the Fed will hike interest rates at a rate that will send the U.S. into a recession.
