Wall Street struggles to recover

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day up 82.32 points, or 0.27%, to 31,029.31, while the other benchmarks closed slightly in the red. The S&P 500 slipped 0.07% to 3,818.83, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite inched lower by 0.03% to 11,177.89.

US equities fluctuated on Wednesday, after the major averages made a failed attempt to rebound in the previous session, and as the market prepares to close out the worst first half of the year since 1970.

Investors continued their search for the bottom of vicious selloffs as the second quarter comes to an end Thursday. Concern over a slowing economy and aggressive rate hikes consumed much of the first half of 2022, and fears of a recession are rising.

Significant volatility is expected this summer. The S&P 500, which is down about 20% in 2022, is on way for its worst first half of the year since 1970, when the index lost 21.01%. Meanwhile, on a quarterly basis, both the Dow and S&P 500 are on track for their worst performance since 2020. The Nasdaq is headed toward its worst three-month period since 2008.

Shares of Goldman Sachs added nearly 1.3% after Bank of America upgraded them to a buy and said the bank will thrive even in an economic slowdown.

Amazon gained 1.4% after JPMorgan reiterated its overweight rating on the stock and Redburn initiated it at a buy. Meta Platforms was up 2%, while Apple and Microsoft gained more than 1% each. Chipmakers led declines after Bank of America downgraded several chip stocks due to rising competition. Teradyne fell 5.2%. Advanced Micro Devices and Micron each lost more than 3%.

Carnival slid 14.1% after Morgan Stanley cut its price target on the stock roughly in half and said it could potentially go to zero in the face of another demand shock. The call dragged other cruise stocks lower. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell about 10.3% and 9.3%, respectively.

Bed Bath & Beyond shares plummeted roughly 23.6% after the company posted a huge miss on quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and announced its CEO is stepping down.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said she will advocate for a 75 basis point hike to interest rates at the central bank’s July meeting if economic conditions remain the same by then. “I haven’t seen the kind of numbers on the inflation side that I need to see in order to think that we can go back to a 50 increase,” she told CNBC.