Tech index Nasdaq plunges five percent as Debt weakens firms

Target’s news pulled the entire industry down. Walmart shares lost another 6.8 percent after their previous-day loss of more than eleven percent. Walgreens Boots Alliance was down 8.4 per cent. Costco, Kohl’s, Best Buy, Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Macy’s all recorded double-digit share price losses.

Retailers’ profit margins came under considerable pressure due to high inflation and rising transport and labour costs, explained analyst Konstantin Oldenburger from broker CMC Markets. “Inflation is forcing consumers to spend more money on food, which means that they have less money available for products that are more profitable for companies due to higher margins,” the expert wrote.

The hardware store group Lowe’s also disappointed investors on Wednesday with its sales development on a comparable area. Shares fell 5.3 percent. In contrast to Lowe’s, the competitor Home Depot had set a positive exclamation mark the day before. By midweek, however, home depot shares were losing as significantly as Lowe’s.

A bright spot in the sold-out retail sector, however, were the shares of TJX, which gained 7.1 percent after quarterly figures. Investors had thus rewarded the stronger margin development compared to Walmart and Target, according to market participants.

The electric car manufacturer Tesla has been removed from the S&P 500 ESG stock index for sustainable investments – much to the displeasure of CEO Elon Musk. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. Under this abbreviation, the financial industry offers financial investments in which criteria such as the environment, social issues and good corporate governance should be given greater consideration. Tesla shares fell 6.8 percent on Wednesday.

The euro fell below $ 1.05. After the New York Stock Exchange closed, $1.0464 was paid for it. The European Central Bank (ECB) had previously set the reference rate at 1.0523 (Tuesday: 1.0541) US dollars, so the dollar had cost 0.9503 (0.9487) euros.

In the bond market, prices turned up in the face of the bad mood on the stock market and the flight of investors into investments that were perceived as safe. For example, the futures contract for ten-year treasuries (T-note futures) recently rose by 0.51 percent to 119.47 points. In return, the yield on ten-year government bonds fell back below the three percent mark at 2.88 percent.