US stocks closed sharply lower on Tuesday, as Walmart’s profit warning sent retail stocks down, and exceptionally weak consumer confidence data fueled spending worries.
Walmart shares plunged after the retailer cut its full-year profit forecast late Monday. Walmart attributed this to the rise in food and fuel prices.
The group said, “It needs to cut prices to reduce stocks.”
During the session, shares of Target Corp and Amazon.com fell.
In addition, data showed that consumer confidence in the United States fell to its lowest level in almost a year and a half in July, amid persistent concerns about rising inflation and raising interest rates.
The US Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting, and is expected to announce on Wednesday a 0.75 percentage point interest rate hike to combat inflation.
Investors are concerned that a sharp US interest rate hike could push the economy into recession.
As for Amazon, which said it would raise its delivery and streaming fees (Prime) in Europe by up to 43% annually, it was among the biggest factors that led to the decline of the Nasdaq Composite and Standard & Poor’s 500 indices, while weak consumer confidence data pushed the latter’s sectors down. .
According to preliminary data, the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell by 46.31 points, or 1.17%, to close at 3,920.53 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 220.09 points, equivalent to 1.88%, to 11,562.58 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was not better than its predecessors, as it also fell 0.74% , by 235.98 points to 31,754.06 points.