Positive Walmart Earnings Not Enough to Lift S&P 500 from Four-Session Decline
Stocks are down overall after a rough week of retail sales reports and fears over tariffs and interest rates.
Quick overview
- The S&P 500 has experienced losses for four consecutive trading sessions despite Walmart's positive earnings report.
- Walmart's stock rose 1.26% after reporting quarterly earnings, but overall market indices like the Nasdaq and S&P 500 declined.
- Inflation concerns and new tariffs are pressuring stock markets, leading to mixed retail performance and cautious investor sentiment.
- Upcoming Federal Reserve meetings and trade talks may influence market direction amid fears of economic decline.
The S&P 500 has been recording a loss at the end of the last four trading sessions even though Walmart (WMT) posted a good earnings statement that enabled them to raise their 2025 outlook.
Walmart stock is up 1.26% after they released their quarterly earnings statement, but the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices are both down, falling 0.67% and 0.24%, respectively. The S&P 500 has now ended the last four sessions in the red after recent weeks of setting record highs.
Stock markets are feeling the pressure from new tariffs as well as fears that inflation is high and the interest rate is not going to be cut anytime soon. Retail reports this week mostly missed the mark, with Walmart appearing as the one bright light, but even that major retailer did not post earnings that were good enough to keep its stock from falling slightly after the quarterly report was posted.
Walmart’s Quarterly Performance
This is the week for big retailers to release their quarterly statements, and Walmart perfumed well in sales for the last quarter. Their profits were not as high as expected, though, and that has caused the retailer to see a small stock drop as Thursday trading commences.
Still Walmart was able to raise their guidance for the entire year as a result of their decent sales figures. For the quarter ending in July, Walmart saw their earnings per share hit 68 cents, but that is below the Wall Street estimate of 73 cents. For the quarter overall, Walmart’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same time last year.
Economic Tightening
Mixed news from Walmart’s quarterly performance will not be enough to help the stock market get back on its feet. Inflation remains sticky and consumer prices are still high while the job market is performing with mixed results.
We may be entering a period of economic decline or at least a period of inflation increase according to the latest data. This has investors worried, and the stock market has seen more selling and less buying over the last week. There is also significant slowdown in the cryptocurrency market.
The only hope for the moment is going to come from two corners- the Federal Reserve’s meeting scheduled for Thursday and the trade/peace talks between the United States, Russia, and the European Union. As news appears on these key issues, the market will dramatically shift back up toward its previous winning streak or down further into a period of decline and economic tightening.
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