Shares of retailers and other consumer companies fell sharply after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell underscored fears that the war in Ukraine would drive up inflation.
A surge in wheat futures is expected to ripple through the processed food industry. So far, food distributors have been able to pass the additional costs onto consumers.
Shares of supermarket chain Kroger rallied after it said its streak of robust sales growth continued in the latest quarter, as a shift among U.S. consumers during the pandemic to eating more at home appeared to be a lasting trend.
Best Buy rose by more than 9%, entering the green for the year to date, after the electronics retailer posted a smaller than anticipated contraction in fiscal fourth-quarter sales, despite a tough comparison with a year earlier when locked-down consumers were loading up on televisions and other devices.
U.S. services sector growth slowed in February to a year low as supply-chain disruptions constrained activity, according to a purchasing managers survey compiled by the Institute for Supply Management.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-03-22 1739ET
