Weak Walmart Results Weigh On US Stocks

New York, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Feb, 2018 ) :Retail shares were under pressure early Tuesday, pushing the Dow and S&P 500 lower, after Walmart reported disappointing fourth-quarter earnings.

Dow component Walmart sank 8.9 percent after reporting a 42.1 percent drop in quarterly earnings to $2.2 billion. Investors were rattled by slowing growth in e-commerce sales by the world's biggest retailer.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3 percent to 25,137.48,. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.1 percent to 2,728.41, but the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.1 percent at 7,249.32.

Analysts said the tepid early trading suggests investor unease at the volatility in recent weeks.

US stocks rallied last week after suffering deep losses the week earlier due to worries about tightening US monetary policy.

Among other retailers, big-box stores Target and Costco Wholesale lost 3.9 percent and 1.8 percent respectively. Gap tumbled 4.6 percent and Best Buy shed 1.3 percent. An exception was Home Depot, which gained 1.1 percent after reporting a 2.0 percent rise in fourth-quarter earnings to $1.8 billon behind higher sales.

NXP Semiconductors shot up 6.2 percent after US mobile chipmaker Qualcomm boosted its bid for the Dutch company to $43 billion. Qualcomm fell 3.8 percent.