Stocks Ended Sharply Lower, Dow Lost 380 Points

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Wednesday, ending the negative month of February on a down note as concerns over inflation and interest rates continued to drive trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 380.83 points, or 1.50%, to 25,029.20. The S&P 500 lost 30.45 points, or 1.11%, to 2,713.83. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 57.35 points, or 0.78%, to 7,273.01. For the month, the Dow fell 4.3%, the S&P shed 3.9% and the Nasdaq lost 1.9%.

Oil futures fell Wednesday, as data revealed a weekly climb in U.S. crude stockpiles that was larger than expected. April West Texas Intermediate crude lost $1.37, or 2.2%, to settle at $61.64 a barrel. Prices for the contract settled roughly 4.8% lower for the month. April Brent lost 85 cents, or 1.3%, to end at $65.78 a barrel and fell about 4.7% in February.