Another fall for stocks on Friday had the S&P 500 flirting with a 20% drop from its peak set early this year, putting it within the grasp of what Wall Street calls a bear market.

The benchmark index was down 0.4% for the day in afternoon trading and on pace for its seventh straight losing week. Rising interest rates, high inflation, the war in Ukraine, and a slowdown in China's economy are all punishing stocks and raising fears about a possible U.S. recession. The last bear market was in 2020, an unusually brief downturn that sliced 34% off the S&P 500.

The index finished the week off with a 3 percent loss, which was its seventh straight weekly decline, the New York Times reported. It's the longest window of losses since 2001.

Surprisingly low earnings reports from Target and Walmart this week didn't help either which contributed to dragging the markets even lower. The New York Times points out that since World War II, recessions almost always follow bear markets.

Stocks rose on Wall Street Friday and closed higher for the week, breaking a seven-week losing streak, the longest such stretch since 2001.

The S&P 500 rose 2.5%, increasing its gain for the week to 6.6%. That's the biggest weekly gain for the benchmark index since November 2020. Technology stocks were a big factor pushing the market higher. That sent the Nasdaq composite up 3.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8%. Retailers also made solid gains.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which helps set mortgage rates, slipped to 2.74%. U.S. crude oil prices rose.

Retailers were among the biggest gainers on Friday as investors continued reviewing the latest round of earnings to get a better sense of just how much pain rising inflation is inflicting on businesses and consumers. Beauty products company Ulta Beauty surged 12.5% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after raising its profit forecast for the year. Amazon rose 3.7%, the Associated Press reported.

Stocks are lower on Wall Street in afternoon trading Tuesday after Walmart warned that inflation was negatively impacting American consumers' spending power.

The S&P 500 was down 1.3% as of 2:42 p.m. Eastern, wiping out modest gains from a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 247 points, or 0.8%, at 31,744 and the Nasdaq Composite slid 2%.

Walmart shares dropped 8.3% after the retail giant cut its profit outlook for the second quarter and the full year, saying rising prices for food and gas are forcing shoppers to cut back on more profitable discretionary items, particularly clothing.

Walmart's profit warning in the middle of the quarter is rare, and raised worries about how the highest inflation in 40 years is affecting the entire retail sector. Stocks of other major chains fell following Walmart's announcement, made after Wall Street's closing bell on Tuesday. Target dropped 4.2%, Macy's slid 6.5% and Kohl's fell 8%.

Investors have remained deeply concerned about inflation's impact on company profits and how it will affect U.S. consumers. While Americans' finances are relatively strong thanks to savings built up during the pandemic, those nest eggs are being spent on high gas and food prices.

The major indexes are coming off solid gains last week fueled by mostly better-than-expected reports on corporate profits. Falling yields in the bond market also helped, easing the pressure on stocks after expectations for rate hikes by the Federal Reserve propelled yields higher much of this year.

The central bank is expected to announce a rate hike of up to three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, triple the usual amount. The central bank is waging an aggressive campaign to stem four-decade high inflation. The expected hike would put the Fed's benchmark rate in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%, the highest since 2018.

Bond yields were mixed Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which tends to move with expectations for the Fed, rose to 3.04% from 3.02% late Monday. The 10-year yield, which influences mortgage rates, fell to 2.79% from 2.82%.

Technology stocks, retailers and communication companies were among the biggest drags on the benchmark S&P 500 index. Microsoft was down 3.5%, Amazon slid 5.3% and Facebook owner Meta Platforms dropped 4.5%.

The losses easily outweighed gains by health care and utilities stocks. Small company stocks also fell, sending the Russell 2000 0.6% lower.

Investors were eying the latest batch of corporate earnings reports.

Shares of automaker General Motors fell 3.1% after the company said its second-quarter profit fell 40% from a year ago, as computer chip and parts shortages hobbled factory output and drove the company's U.S. sales down more than 15%.

The Detroit automaker earned $1.67 billion from April through June, well below the $2.79 billion it made a year earlier. GM couldn't deliver 95,000 vehicles during the quarter because it lacked parts.

Shopify slumped 15.3% after the Canadian e-commerce company said it is cutting 10% of its staff, or about 1,000 employees, as it reckons with an unexpected sales downturn after pandemic-fueled growth.

Tech heavyweights Alphabet and Microsoft report their results after the closing bell, while Meta, Apple and Amazon report later in the week.

Markets sold off worldwide on mounting signs the global economy is weakening just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional hikes to interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at its lowest point of the year Friday. The S&P 500 fell 1.7%, close to its 2022 low. Energy prices also closed sharply lower as traders worried about a possible recession—Treasury yields, which affect rates on mortgages and other kinds of loans, held at multiyear highs. U.K. government bond yields snapped higher after that country's new government announced a sweeping plan of tax cuts.

Stocks tumbled worldwide Friday on more signs the global economy is weakening, just as central banks raise the pressure even more with additional interest rate hikes.

The S&P 500 fell 2% in afternoon trading, adding a dismal cap on what's already been a rough week. It's close to its low point of the year in mid-June.

European stocks fell just as sharply or more after preliminary data there suggested business activity had its worst monthly contraction since the start of 2021. Adding to the pressure was a new plan announced in London to cut taxes, which sent U.K. yields soaring because it could ultimately force its central bank to raise rates even more sharply.

The Federal Reserve and other central banks around the world aggressively hiked interest rates this week to undercut high inflation, with more big increases promised for the future. But such moves also brake their economies, threatening recessions as growth slows worldwide. Besides Friday's discouraging data on European business activity, a separate report suggested U.S. activity is also still shrinking, though not quite as bad as in earlier months.

"Financial markets are now fully absorbing the Fed's harsh message that there will be no retreat from the inflation fight," Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research report.

Crude oil prices tumbled to their lowest levels since early this year on worries that a weaker global economy will burn less fuel. Cryptocurrency prices also fell sharply because higher interest rates tend to hit hardest the investments that look the priciest or the riskiest.

Even gold fell in the worldwide rout, as bonds paying higher yields make investments that pay no interest look less attractive. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar has been moving sharply higher against other currencies. That can hurt profits for U.S. companies with lots of overseas business, as well as put a financial squeeze on much of the developing world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 505 points, or 1.7%, to 29,572 and the Nasdaq fell 1.9% as of 3:43 p.m. Eastern. Smaller company stocks did even worse. The Russell 2000 fell 3%. U.S. crude oil prices slid 5.7% and weighed heavily on energy stocks.

More than 90% of stocks in the S&P 500 were in the red, with technology companies, retailers and banks among the biggest weights on the benchmark index. The major indexes are on pace for their fifth weekly loss in six weeks.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday lifted its benchmark rate, which affects many consumer and business loans, to a range of 3% to 3.25%. It was at virtually zero at the start of the year. The Fed also released a forecast suggesting its benchmark rate could be 4.4% by the year's end, a full point higher than envisioned in June.

Treasury yields have climbed to multiyear highs as interest rates rise. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which tends to follow expectations for Federal Reserve action, rose to 4.19% from 4.12% late Thursday. It is trading at its highest level since 2007. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, slipped to 3.68% from 3.71%.

The higher rates mean Goldman Sachs strategists say most of their clients now see a "hard landing" that pulls the economy sharply lower as inevitable. The question for them is just on the timing, magnitude and length of a potential recession.

Higher interest rates hurt all kinds of investments, but stocks could stay steady as long as corporate profits grow strongly. The problem is that many analysts are beginning to cut their forecasts for upcoming earnings because of higher rates and worries about a possible recession.

"Increasingly, market psychology has transitioned from concerns over inflation to worries that, at a minimum, corporate profits will decline as economic growth slows demand," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial.

In the U.S., the jobs market has remained remarkably solid, and many analysts think the economy grew in the summer quarter after shrinking in the first six months of the year. But the encouraging signs also suggest the Fed may have to jack rates even higher to get the cooling needed to bring down inflation.

Some key areas of the economy are already weakening. Mortgage rates have reached 14-year highs, causing sales of existing homes to drop 20% in the past year. But other areas that do best when rates are low are also hurting.

In Europe, meanwhile, the already fragile economy is dealing with the effects of war on its eastern front following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The European Central Bank is hiking its key interest rate to combat inflation even as the region's economy is already expected to plunge into a recession. And in Asia, China's economy is contending with still-strict measures meant to limit COVID infections that also hurt businesses.

While Friday's economic reports were discouraging, few on Wall Street saw them as enough to convince the Fed and other central banks to soften their stance on raising rates. So they just reinforced the fear that rates will keep rising in the face of already slowing economies.

——

Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber and Business Writers Joe McDonald and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Stocks fell in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday as major indexes head for their second weekly loss in a row after another bout of turbulence shook markets.

The S&P 500 fell 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8% and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%. Investors have been watching the latest developments in Ukraine, where Russia has been amassing troops on the border, as well as more corporate earnings reports.

This week investors also received the latest confirmation from the Federal Reserve that it intends to move decisively to fight inflation with higher interest rates.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the U.S expects an attack from Russia on Ukraine in the coming days. And Joe Biden reportedly is expected to move more U.S. troops to the region.

As CNBC reported, Friday was a volatile day for the markets for a number of reasons, including a warning that trillions of dollars in ETFs, indexes, options and futures were set to expire.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard has warned that without aggressive action, inflation could get out of control if there are not rate hikes, CNBC reported on Thursday.

Spring is the kick-off season for farmers markets across the country, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought many markets' plans to open screeching to a halt.

Sherri Schreiner says 70 percent of her vendors rely on the farmers market for income. Schreiner manages the Roswell Farmers Market in the bustling town outside of Atlanta, Georgia. She says she's received so many inquiries from local residents and vendors asking when the market will be back open.

"I just had to break it to my vendors that we weren’t going to start,” she said. “I had to cancel our musical performances.”

The Roswell Farmers Market can't open without their local city's permission amid current shelter-in-place restrictions. In the meantime, they're offering their local vendors a new way to market their products: online order and a drive through the market.

"They're doing better by being there in person, while they pick up their order, and people can drive by and point and say, 'I want that,'" explained Schreiner.

Jennifer Tice owns Indigo Soaps, which uses natural and locally-sourced ingredients. She says the cash flow to her business has been affected by many farmer's markets being shut down.

"People are still afraid to come out and shop," Tice said.

Tice usually relies on the Roswell Farmers Market to help sell her products. Right now, she's selling them at another local farmer's market that is open, but she says the number of customers shopping is down by at least one-third.

"Definitely not having that day-to-day or weekly interaction with us has been a huge impact for us and both myself and a lot of the other vendors that are there. They live for market season," said Tice.

For the farmers markets across the country that are still open, organizers have put restrictions on vendors.

"All of the vendors are required to wear masks and they’ve got hand washing stations at both locations at the beginning and end of the market. It's only supposed to be one shopper per household," said Tice.

Zach White, who sells plants and produce at several farmers markets, hopes states recognize that farmers markets are essentially outdoor grocery stores that support local businesses.

"You know, they’re out of eggs, they’re out of meats. You go to farmers markets,” he said. “I have friends that are down the road here from our home, they sell eggs right from the farm. I mean, they have their licenses and they sell at the farmers markets and they’re stuck at home and they want to sell their products.”

White owns Buice Family Farms and says normally 50 percent of his sales come from farmers markets. He and his family have had to find other ways to reach consumers while the markets are closed.