U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday after the S&P 500 hit all-time highs in the previous two sessions as concerns grew after retail behemoth Walmart gave a disappointing guidance that raised concern about the economy’s health. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 1% or 450.94 points, to close at 44,176.65 points.
The S&P 500 declined 0.4% or 26.63 points, to finish at 6,117.52 points. Financials and consumer discretionary stocks were the worst performers.
The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) lost 1.5%, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) fell 0.9%. The Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) declined 0.7%. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 0.5% or 93.89 points to end at 19,962.36 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.55% to 15.66. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.13-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.69-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 16.36 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 15.57 billion.
Concerns Grow Over Economy’s Health After Walmart Guidance
Stocks retreated sharply from their earlier highs on Thursday. The decline came after retail behemoth Walmart, Inc. (WMT) issued current fiscal year sales and profit guidance that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
Walmart said that it expects current fiscal year sales to grow between 3% and 4%. Walmart’s weak guidance overshadowed the company's fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed expectations.
Walmart reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings of $0.66 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.65 per share. However, the company’s shares fell 6.5%. Walmart has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other major retailers also suffered following Walmart’s announcement. Shares of Target Corporation (TGT) and Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) declined 2% and 2.6%, respectively.
Trump’s Tariff Plans Raise Concerns
Walmart’s poor sales and profit guidance weighed on the broader market on Thursday, which is witnessing for the past several sessions on fears of a potential global trade war. President Donald Trump’s tariff plans have been making investors jittery.
Trump announced 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports earlier this month before pausing them for a month. However, he has already imposed 10% tariffs on Chinese imports. On Wednesday, he announced 25% tariffs on the import of pharmaceuticals, autos, and semiconductors. It is still not clear if the tariff will target specific countries or be broad-based.
However, Trump’s tariff plans have already raised concerns of a global trade war as the impacted countries will also likely impose retaliatory tariffs.
Economic Data
The Labor Department reported on Thursday that jobless claims totaled 219,000 for the week ending Feb. 15, increasing 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 214,000. The four-week moving average was 215,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 216,250.
Continuing claims came in at 1,869,000, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,845,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,862,500 a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week's revised average of 1,870,250.
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