Indicators end sharply lower as Walmart’s warning scares investors’ profits

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday as a profit warning from Walmart sent retail stocks tumbling and exceptionally weak consumer confidence data fueled spending worries.

Walmart (WMT.N) Shares sank after the retailer cut its full-year earnings forecast late Monday. Walmart blamed high food and fuel prices and said it needed to cut prices to reduce stocks. Read more

Target Corp. shares (TGT.N) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) also dropped. Read more

Data showed US consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in nearly a year and a half in July amid persistent concerns about rising inflation and higher interest rates. Read more

“Walmart basically pulled the plug, and most retailers were lower across the board,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

With the Fed’s upcoming decision this week, he said, the market is mostly ignoring it, and the focus is on earnings and data.

The Federal Reserve began its two-day meeting and on Wednesday, it is expected to announce a 0.75 percentage point rate hike to combat inflation. read more Investors are concerned that an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve could push the economy into a recession.

Amazon, which said it would raise delivery fees and Prime streaming services in Europe by up to 43% annually, was among the biggest drawbacks on the Nasdaq and S&P 500 Index, while the consumer estimated (.SPLRCD) Led declines among the S&P 500 sectors. Read more

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 . index (.SPX) It lost 46.31 points, or 1.17%, to close at 3,920.53 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost. (nineteenth) It lost 220.09 points, or 1.88%, to 11,562.58 points. Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) It fell 235.98 points, or 0.74%, to 31,754.06 points.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola (KO.N) Acquired after the company raised full-year revenue expectations. McDonald’s Corp. (MCD.N) It rose after exceeding quarterly forecasts. Read more

A profitable week also includes reports from Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.O) after the bell.

Investors were looking to see if this week’s earnings news from huge companies might help the stock market maintain its recent rally. Read more

Profits for S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 6.2% for the second quarter compared to the same period last year, according to Refinitiv data.

In other company news, 3M Co (MMM.N) It rose after the industrial giant said it intends to sever its healthcare business. Read more General Electric Company (GE.N) Gains after the industry group outperformed revenue and profit estimates.

The International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast again. Read more

Additional reporting by Shreyachi Sanyal and Anirudha Ghosh in Bengaluru. Editing by Arun Koyyur, Anil D’Silva and David Gregorio

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