Dow Plummets Nearly 350 Points Amid Walmart Earnings Miss
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted nearly 350 points on Thursday due to a combination of factors, including Walmart's disappointing sales guidance and rising Treasury yields.
Despite beating Wall Street's second-quarter earnings estimates, Walmart shares tumbled nearly 6% in premarket trading as investors focused on the retailer's weak comparable sales growth, which fell short of expectations at 2.6%, versus a projected 3.8% increase.
Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management, likened Walmart's soft guidance to Nvidia posting a slowdown, suggesting it may signal broader issues in American consumer spending.
The decline extended a choppy stretch for U.S. equities, which has been marked by volatility in the bond market and rising oil prices tied to escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.