Dow Jones Industrial Average Tumbles 150 Points After Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) Sinks 10%

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling more than 150 points, after a series of mixed economic reports and earnings results raised questions on whether the Federal Reserve will raise the cost of borrowing for the first time in nearly a decade. Eight of the 10 sectors in the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed lower, led by declines in consumer staples, industrials and financial stocks.