Indexes Fall as Walmart Earnings Warning Scare Investors

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 fell 7.6 percent after the retailer cut its full-year profit forecast late on 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)Down 3.6% and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) The S&P 500 retail index fell 5.2%. (.SPXRT) It decreased by 4.2%. Read more

On Tuesday, 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

said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

Amazon, which said it would raise delivery fees and Prime streaming services in Europe by up to 43% annually, was the biggest drag on the Nasdaq and S&P 500, while the consumer estimated (.SPLRCD)It fell 3.3% and led declines among the S&P 500 sectors. Read More

The Federal Reserve began its two-day meeting, and on Wednesday 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.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The Standard & Poor’s Index fell 228.5 points, or 0.71%, to 3,1761.54 points (.SPX) It lost 45.79 points, or 1.15%, to 3,921.05 points and the Nasdaq Composite (nineteenth) It fell 220.09 points, or 1.87%, to 11,562.58 points.

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

Microsoft shares fell 0.5% in after-hours trading, while Alphabet shares rose 3% following corporate results. Microsoft ended the regular session 2.7% lower and Alphabet stock closed 2.3% lower on the day. Read more

Investors were looking to see if this week’s massive corporate earnings news could 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.

Also during the regular session, Coca-Cola (KO.N) It gained 1.6% after the company raised its full-year revenue forecast. McDonald’s Corp. (MCD.N) It rose 2.7% after beating quarterly expectations. Read more

3ME Company (MMM.N) It rose 4.9% after the industrial giant said it intends to separate its healthcare business. Read more General Electric Company (GE.N)A 4.6% gain after the industrial conglomerate beat revenue and profit estimates.

In another forecast, the International Monetary Fund cut its global growth forecast again. Read more

Volume on US exchanges was 9.60 billion shares, compared to an average of 10.93 billion for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Low issues outnumbered advanced issues on the New York Stock Exchange by 1.73 to 1; On the Nasdaq, the ratio was 1.72 to 1 in favor of declining stocks.

S&P 500 set new 52-week high and 30 new low; The Nasdaq recorded 39 new highs and 138 new lows.

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

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.