How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday

Stocks closed sharply lower on Wall Street Wednesday, led by a swoon in technology companies that erased the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s gains for the year.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite had its worst day since in seven years and finished 12.3 per cent below its August peak. Several companies sustained heavy drops after reporting disappointing quarterly results.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 lost 84.59 points, or 3.1 per cent, to 2,656.10.

The Dow tumbled 608.01 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 24,583.42.

The Nasdaq slid 329.14 points, or 4.4 per cent, to 7,108.40.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks gave up 57.89 points, or 3.8 per cent, to 1,468.70.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 111.68 points, or 4 per cent.

The Dow is down 860.92 points, or 3.4 per cent.

The Nasdaq is down 340.63 points, or 4.6 per cent.

The Russell 2000 is down 73.34 points, or 4.8 per cent.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is down 17.51 points, or 0.7 per cent.

The Dow is down 135.80 points, or 0.5 per cent.

The Nasdaq is up 205.01 points, or 3 per cent.

The Russell 2000 is down 66.81 points, or 4.4 per cent.