Dow, other U.S. indexes down for the year as retail, tech stocks fall

Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones Industrial average and other major U.S. indexes continued to fall Tuesday as shares of major retailers were down ahead of the holiday shopping season.

The Dow was down 551.80, or 2.21 percent, at the end of trading on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell 1.82 percent and the Nasdaq slid 1.7 percent, as retailers including Target and Kohls as well as tech giant Apple took losses.

All three major U.S. indexes were down slightly for the year after trading, with the Dow about 2,400 points below its peak.

Target stocks fell 10.5 percent after a reporting lesser earnings than expected for the third quarter as major retailers prepare for Black Friday and the holiday shopping season at large.

Other retailers experienced losses Tuesday, with Kohl's dropping 9.2 percent, L Brands plummeting 17.7 percent and Macy's falling 3.4 percent.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Census Bureau announced retail sales improved 0.8 percent to $511.5 billion, led by purchases of motor vehicles and building materials.

Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google's parent company Alphabet -- known collectively as "FAANG" -- all closed down more than 20 percent from their 52-week highs, placing them in bear market territory.

Apple experienced the biggest loss of the group, dropping nearly 5 percent after Goldman Sachs cut it's price on the stock for the second time in a week amid concerns over lack of demands for the company's latest line of iPhones.

"In addition to weakness in demand for Apple's products in China ... it also looks like the balance of price and features in the iPhone XR may not have been well-received," the investment bank said.