Persistent inflation and an increasingly aggressive U.S. Federal Reserve have sent stocks tumbling this year with little sign of relief on the horizon.

The S&P 500 fell 17% to 3,693.23 during the 12 months ending Sept. 23 as interest rates rose and recession fears grew. The Fed is raising benchmark interest rates to combat soaring inflation, which is eroding valuations across much of the large-cap index's constituents as investors flee stocks for safer alternatives.

Stocks slide

For the year ending Sept. 23, the communication services and consumer discretionary sectors posted the biggest losses among the 11 sectors included in the S&P 500 with declines of 39.4% and 21.8%, respectively.

While most sectors declined, the four sectors that rose in value were led by energy with a 41.5% gain, the biggest swing for any sector. A jump in energy prices has generally kept the sector in positive territory while others fall.

Information technology remains the S&P 500's largest sector by market capitalization, despite a 21.1% drop over the last year.

Revenue gains

While share prices have fallen, all 11 sectors in the S&P 500 posted second-quarter revenue gains from a year ago, according to the most recent earnings data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The energy sector grew the fastest, recording a 75.5% increase to $429.14 billion.

Financials posted the smallest gain of 1.6% to $425.55 billion. The sector with the most revenue in the second quarter was healthcare with $730.30 billion, up 9.8% from a year ago.

Murky outlooks for the future paths of inflation, economic growth, interest rates, earnings and valuations broaden the possibilities for stock valuations, according to a Sept. 22 Goldman Sachs note. The Fed's aggressive monetary tightening led Goldman Sachs to forecast that the S&P 500 will end the year at 3,600, down from a previous forecast of 4,300.

Declining longer-term inflation expectations and falling gas prices in recent months have eased investor concerns. If the economy can avoid a recession, the S&P 500 could rally to 4,300, Goldman said.