EXPLAINER: Why is Wall Street close to a bear market?

By STAN CHOE and ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — The bears are rumbling toward Wall Street. The stock market’s skid this year has pulled the S&P 500 close to what’s known as a bear market. Rising interest rates, high inflation, the war in Ukraine and a slowdown in China’s economy have caused investors to reconsider the prices they’re willing to pay for a wide range of stocks, from high-flying tech companies to traditional automakers. A bear market is a term used by Wall Street when a market index has fallen 20% or more from a recent high. The S&P 500 is now down 18.2% from the record high set on Jan. 3.