NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks tried to make a go of posting gains on Wednesday, but the forces were working against them. 

First, weaker retail sales out in the morning put consumer discretionary stocks in the hot seat. Then, the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart (WMT) - Get Report reported worrying forecasts. The final nail in the coffin, the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book," showed a number of districts struggling from a slowdown in manufacturing associated with the stronger U.S. dollar. 

Benchmark indexes slumped in the afternoon session after briefly popping into the green twice earlier in the day. The S&P 500 was down 0.47%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.92%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.29%.

Another blow came after the bell, when Netflix (NFLX) - Get Report posted lower-than-expected quarterly results and said subscriptions for the online streaming service will be down in the fourth quarter. Netflix dropped 6.9% in after-hours trading after closing on Wednesday at $110.23.

Retail sales rose just 0.1% in September, up slightly from a flat reading in August. The reading was as economists expected, though still looked weak as consumers held onto their cash during summer's end. Auto sales remained strong, up 1.7%.

Core sales, which strip out autos, gas and food, fell 0.1% after a downwardly revised 0.2% decline in August. Core sales most closely resemble the consumer spending measure used to calculate GDP. On the upside, weakness in core sales makes a Fed move in the near-term even more unlikely.

"The main takeaway from this report is to both reinforce the view that a rate hike in October is a zero-percent probability event while also providing fodder for those arguing the economy noticeably downshifted in the third quarter," Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG Research, wrote in a note. "While this number is certainly not welcome, it doesn't tell us anything new per se... What matters at this point is whether there is a fourth-quarter acceleration."

Wal-Mart was a big drag on the Dow after the world's largest retailer said that investments in technology and wage increases would likely lead to a decline in earnings in 2016. Wage increases are expected to add $1.2 billion in costs over 2016. Sales next year are expected to come in flat before growing between 3% and 4% over the next three years. Shares fell 10%. 

Consumer discretionary stocks were the worst performers on market. Target (TGT) - Get Report , Starbucks (SBUX) - Get Report , Home Depot (HD) - Get Report , Lowe's (LOW) - Get Report , and Costco (COST) - Get Report were all lower, while the Consumer Discretionary SPDR ETF (XLY) - Get Report slid 1%. 

Richmond and Chicago, two of the 12 Fed districts, reported the pace of growth slowed, according to the Fed's "Beige Book" released Wednesday afternoon. A number of districts, including New York, Minneapolis and Dallas, said the strong U.S. dollar had the biggest impact on manufacturing and tourism. However, the majority of districts said the U.S. economy continued to grow from mid-August to early October.

"Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts point to continued modest expansion in economic activity," the Fed wrote. "A number of Districts cite the strong dollar as restraining manufacturing activity as well as tourism spending."

Earnings season heated up as major banks released their third-quarter performances. Bank of America (BAC) - Get Report added 0.7% after topping profit and sales estimates in its third quarter. The bank posted net income of 37 cents a share, 4 cents a share above estimates. Bank of America recovered from a loss a year earlier tied to legal costs and a settlement with the government over mortgages. Revenue fell 2.4% to $20.91 billion.

Wells Fargo (WFC) - Get Report slid 0.7% despite third-quarter sales coming in above estimates. The bank reported quarterly revenue of $21.9 billion, up 3% from a year earlier and above forecasts of $21.8 billion. Wells Fargo earned $1.05 a share over the quarter, in line with expectations.

JPMorgan (JPM) - Get Report reported a 22% increase in quarterly profit as cost-cutting efforts translated to the bottom line. However, shares dropped nearly 1% as net income of $1.32 a share missed estimates by a nickel. Third-quarter revenue fell 6.4% to $23.54 billion. The bank said market volatility over the third quarter hurt trading revenue and that it could continue through the fourth quarter.

TripAdvisor (TRIP) - Get Report surged more than 20% on news it was in partnership with Priceline (PCLN) . As part of the deal, Priceline's hotel inventory will be available through TripAdvisor's Instant Booking solution, meaning users will not have to leave TripAdvisor's Web site nor apps to book with Priceline. Competitor Expedia's (EXPE) - Get Report shares slumped nearly 5%.