S&P 500, Dow Pressured by Weak Economic Data, Hawkish Fed Remarks

The S&P 500 and the Dow both fell by about 2% on Wednesday, sending the main U.S. stock index futures down. Wall Street suffered its largest daily loss in more than a month as hawkish remarks from two Fed members and dismal economic data contributed to investor desire for lower-risk assets.

The benchmark S&P 500 Index finished the day on Wednesday at 3928.86, down 62.11 or -1.56%. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day at 33296.96, down 613.89 or -1.81%, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite dropped 138.10, or 1.24%, to close at 10957.01.

Wednesday's Recap Following the release of data revealing a decline in industrial production last month and the largest drop in retail sales in a year, U.S. equities dipped just before the cash market opened on Wednesday.

The theme of a weakening economy and an impending recession in 2023 was furthered by the drop in both industrial output and retail expenditure. Additionally, it could have dispelled last week's market craze about a "soft-landing" recession.

Investors also had to cope with Microsoft's announcement of 10,000 layoffs and hawkish remarks from Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker in addition to the bad economic news.