Stocks Fall on Walmart’s Warning as Big Banks Sink
Stocks fell from all-time highs as a disappointing forecast from the world’s largest retailer added to concern about the economy’s main engine.
Walmart Inc., the first big-box retailer to report results after the holiday season, sank 6.5%. Its chief financial officer acknowledged “uncertainties related to consumer behavior and global economic and geopolitical conditions.” That’s just days after retail sales signaled an abrupt pullback by consumers. A slide in banks also weighed on trading, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. each falling over 3.8%.
Retailers like Walmart tend to perform well during tough economic times. It’s also true that Walmart usually starts the year with a conservative guidance. But the fact is consumers are dealing with stubborn prices and high borrowing costs, and many are turning to credit cards and other debt to support their spending — with a rising number of those loans starting to go bad.
Those uncertainties hit a market dealing with risks ranging from tariffs to inflation, geopolitics and valuations. After rallying over 20% last year, US stocks have trailed global counterparts — with the S&P 500 failing to achieve meaningful breakouts during the three times it closed at a record in 2025.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%. The Nasdaq 100 slid 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1%. The Russell 2000 dropped 0.9%. The KBW Bank Index slumped 2.4%. A gauge of the Magnificent Seven megacaps fell 0.5%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries slid three basis points to 4.50%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.7%. The yen led gains in major currencies on bets the Bank of Japan will hike rates sooner rather than later.
Source : Bloomberg
