NEW YORK: US stocks sold off on Thursday as ongoing tariff jitters and a downbeat forecast from Walmart dampened investor risk appetite.
A broad selloff pulled all three major US stock indices into negative territory, with the blue-chip Dow suffering the steepest loss, shedding 1.01%. The S&P 500 snapped its two-day string of record closing highs.
Gold prices surged to a record high, suggesting a flight to safety amid mounting uncertainties.
Walmart, the world's largest retailer, provided current fiscal year sales and profit forecasts that fell shy of analysts' expectations, which suggested dampening consumer demand.
"With the consumer driving 70% of the US economy (Walmart's) weak guidance gave rise to some nervousness, regarding the health of the consumer and potential consumer spending going forward," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.
"That led to maybe some selling pressure in shares of Walmart, which spread throughout the overall market," Pavlik added.
Walmart's shares slid 6.5%, while other large retailers Target and Costco Wholesale lost 2.0% and 2.6%, respectively.
Walmart's results also provided a glimpse into how the company expects to fare under US President Donald Trump's growing list of tariff announcements.
On Wednesday, that list was expanded to include lumber, autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.
"You can't talk about uncertainty if you don't mention tariffs, right? That's been a very volatile headline," said Mike Dickson, head of research at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Is Trump using this as a bargaining tool? Is he serious about it? Who's going to be impacted? You've seen a lot of that."
Recent economic data, including jobless claims and Atlantic region factory activity, suggested that the U.S. economy is in solid shape for now, in line with recent comments by Federal Reserve policymakers.
But some economists fear labor market disruptions are possible as a result of the thousands of federal employees recently fired by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 450.94 points, or 1.01%, to 44,176.65, the S&P 500 lost 26.63 points, or 0.43%, to 6,117.52 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 93.89 points, or 0.47%, to 19,962.36.
Among the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, financials lost the most, dropping 1.6%. Energy enjoyed the biggest percentage gain, rising 1.0%.
Palantir Technologies, which provides governments with services such as software that visualizes army positions, shed 5.2% after a Pentagon announcement on Wednesday that it was looking at potential budget cuts for the fiscal year 2026.
US-listed shares of Alibaba Group advanced 8.1% following the Chinese e-commerce firm's consensus-beating third-quarter revenue.
Hasbro jumped 13.0% after the toymaker beat quarterly profit and revenue estimates.
Medical device firm Baxter International gained 8.5% after the company provided a better-than-expected 2025 profit forecast.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.13-to-1 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange. There were 125 new highs and 72 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 1,617 stocks rose and 2,734 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.69-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and three new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 54 new highs and 132 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was 16.36 billion shares, compared with the 15.57 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. — Reuters
