(Bloomberg) — 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.
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The S&P 500 slid about 1%. Walmart Inc., the first big-box retailer to report results after the holiday season, sank 7%. 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. down at least 4%.
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.
“This news out of Walmart raises even more concerns about the state of the consumer,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak + Co. “We have already seen some very disappointing numbers on consumer confidence and last week’s retail sales data was much lower than expected. It raises some questions about how strong growth will be over the rest of this year.”
Those uncertainties hit a market dealing with risks ranging from tariffs to inflation, geopolitics and lofty tech valuations. After rallying more than 20% last year, US stocks have trailed global counterparts — with the S&P 500 failing to achieve meaningful breakouts during the three times it notched closing records in 2025.
“A correction may soon be necessary to restore a more attractive valuation for US stocks,” said Fawad Razaqzada at City Index and Forex.com. “While there are no overt warning signs just yet, it pays to be alert to signals that would put the S&P 500 forecast on a downward trajectory in the short-term.”
The S&P 500 fell 0.9%. The Nasdaq 100 slid 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.5%.
The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell three basis points to 4.50%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.5%. The yen led gains in major currencies on bets the Bank of Japan will hike rates sooner rather than later.
