Wholesale inventories for January, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $617.7 billion, up 0.7% from December 2017, and up 4.5% from January 2017, the Census Bureau announced. The November 2017 to December 2017 percentage change was revised from up 0.4% to up 0.6%.

Retail inventories for January, adjusted for seasonal variations but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of $626.2 billion, up 0.8% from December 2017, and up 2.4% from January 2017. The November 2017 to December 2017 percentage change was revised from up 0.2% to up 0.3%.

Tuesday, the Dow was down 299.24 points (1.16%) at 25,410.03, the NASDAQ decreased 91.11 points (1.23%) to 7,330.35, and the S&P 500 closed 35.32 points (1.27%) lower at 2,744.28. The Russell 2000 fell 22.86 points (1.47%) to 1,536.47, and the Wilshire 5000 lost 369.59 points (1.29%) to finish at 28,339.84.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note decreased 11/32, bringing its yield up to 2.903%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond was down 7/32, increasing its yield to 3.167%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1827, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became the first railroad incorporated for commercial transportation of people and freight. In 1849, regular steamboat service to California via Cape Horn arrived in San Francisco for the first time. The SS California had left New York Harbor on October 6, 1848. The trip took 4 months and 21 days. In 1861, the U.S. territory of Colorado was organized. In 1883, the first vaudeville theater opened. In 1885, AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph) was incorporated. In 1948, Bud Gartiser set a world record when he cleared the 50-yard low hurdles in 6.8 seconds. In 1951, a Senate committee issued a report that stated that there were at least two major crime syndicates in the U.S. In 1953, in a Cambridge University laboratory, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA. In 1974, the U.S. and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a break of seven years. In 1979, Mr. Ed, the talking horse from the TV show “Mr. Ed”, died. In 1983, “M*A*S*H” became the most watched television program in history when the final episode aired. In 1993, U.S. Federal agents raided the compound of an armed religious cult in Waco, Texas. The Division of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) had planned to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, on federal firearms charges. Four agents and six Davidians were killed and a 51-day standoff followed.

WEDNESDAY WISDOM: “God gives the nuts, but he does not crack them.”—Franz Kafka, novelist and short story writer