Stocks fell on Wednesday after staging a comeback on Tuesday as heavy selling returned to Wall Street as disappointing earnings reports from Walmart (WMT  ) and Target (TGT  ) stoked more inflation fears. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 1,100 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite traded about 4% and 4.7% lower, respectively.

Here's how the market settled on Wednesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -4.04% or -165.17 points to 3,923.68

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -3.57% or -1,164.52 points to 31,490.07

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -4.73% or -566.37 points to 11,418.15

Housing starts fell in April:

U.S. housing starts and building permits each declined in April, as rising interest rates and ongoing supply side shortages weighed on the housing market.

Housing starts fell 0.2% month-over-month in April to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.724 million, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. April's print followed a downwardly revised decline of 2.8% in March. Beneath the headline, single-family housing starts fell by 7.3% to a rate of 1.1 million.

Building permits fell 3.2% in April to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.819 million. In March, permits had rose by 0.3% to a rate of 1.870 million.

Mortgage applications fell last week on rising rates:

U.S. mortgage applications declined by the most since mid-February last week as rising mortgage rates deterring some would-be buyers and refinancers from entering the market.

Mortgage loan application volume slid 11% week-over-week for the week ended May 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest weekly report published Wednesday. Beneath the headline, refinances fell by 10% over the previous weeks and dropped 76% compared to the same week last year. Purchases fell 12% from the prior week and by 15% from the comparable week last year.

"For borrowers looking to refinance, the current level of rates continues to be a significant disincentive," Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in press statement. "Purchase applications fell 12% last week, as prospective homebuyers have been put off by higher rates and worsening affordability conditions. Furthermore, general uncertainty about the near-term economic outlook, as well as recent stock market volatility, may be causing some households to delay their home search."

Here's how benchmarks started trading after market open:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -1.17% or -47.92 points to 4,040.93

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.96% or -313.94 points to 32,340.65

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -1.40% or -167.82 points to 11,816.70