· The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 fell sharply on Tuesday and turned negative for the year as a decline in Target shares pressured retailers, while some of the most popular tech shares dropped again.
The 30-stock Dow dropped 551.80 points to 24,465.64 and the S&P 500 plunged 1.8 percent to close at 2,641.89. The Dow and S&P500 were up 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively, for 2018 entering Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite also dropped 1.7percent to 6,908.82 but managed to hang on to a slight gain for 2018. Tuesday's declines come after the Dow dropped 395 points on Monday.
Target fell 10.5 percent after reporting weaker-than-expected earnings for the previous quarter. The company also posted lighter-than-forecast same-store sales, which is a key metric for retailers.
"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."
· European markets moved sharply lower Tuesday, extending the latest wave of global selling.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended down around 1.09 percent by the close, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory.
Tech stocks were among the worst performers during early afternoon deals. The sector slipped more than 1.9 percent after sharp losses on Wall Street compounded souring market sentiment in Europe.
Europe's banking index also dipped 2.2 percent by Tuesday's close amid heightened worries over slowing economic growth. British lender CYBG slumped to the bottom of the benchmark after the firm announced it was planning for a "period of uncertainty" in regards to Brexit negotiations. Shares tumbled nearly 16 percent on the news.
· Asian markets saw a sell-off on early Wednesday following a plunge on Wall Street overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 1.43 percent in the morning while the Topix index shed 1.54 percent. South Korea's Kospi also saw losses in early trade as it declined by 1.31 percent minutes into its market open.
Stocks in Australia saw sustained weakness in the morning. The ASX 200 fell 1.18 percent, with almost all sectors seeing losses. The heavily weighted financial subindex shed 0.7 percent.
Tuesday's declines came a day after members of the popular "FAANG" stocks — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet — all closed in bear market territory, down more than 20 percent from their 52-week highs.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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