Slump By Walmart May Weigh On Wall Street In Early Trading

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Thursday, with stocks likely to move to the downside after moving modestly higher over the two previous sessions.

A slump by shares of Walmart (WMT) is likely to weigh on Wall Street, as the retail giant is tumbling by 6.6 percent in pre-market trading.

The steep drop by Walmart comes after the company reported better than fiscal fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance for the current year.

Traders may also look to cash in on the recent upticks by stocks, which have lifted the S&P 500 to record highs despite ongoing tariff concerns and indications the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time.

Stocks moved modestly lower early in the session on Wednesday but regained ground over the course of the trading day. The major averages climbed well off their early lows and into positive territory, with the S&P 500 once again reaching a new record closing high.

The major averages ended the day modestly higher. The S&P 500 rose 14.57 points or 0.2 percent to 6,144.15, the Dow climbed 71.25 points or 0.2 percent to 44,627.59 and the Nasdaq inched up 14.99 points or 0.1 percent to 20,056.25.

The strength that emerged on Wall Street came as traders shrugged off early concerns about a global trade war even as President Donald Trump said he plans to impose tariffs on U.S. imports of automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

Trump said the 25 percent tariffs could be imposed as early as April 2nd and warned the duties could “go substantially higher over a course of a year.”

The rebound also came even though the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting revealed officials want to see further progress on inflation before they consider resuming lowering interest rates.

The minutes of the Fed’s January 28-29 meeting also reiterated officials believe a “careful approach” in considering additional adjustments to the stance of monetary policy is appropriate given the high degree of uncertainty.

Factors mentioned by participants as supporting a “careful approach” included the reduced downside risks to the outlook for the labor market and economic activity and increased upside risks to the outlook for inflation, the Fed said.

Participants said the upside risks to the inflation outlook partly reflected the possible effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing housing starts pulled back by more than expected in the month of January.

Computer hardware stocks extended the rally seen over the past several sessions, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index surging by 1.9 percent to a new record closing high.

Significant strength also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.2 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Healthcare stocks also showed a notable move to the upside, while weakness remained visible among housing and airline stocks.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are rising $0.17 to $72.42 a barrel after climbing $0.40 to $72.25 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after sliding $12.90 to $2,936.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are jumping $27.40 to $2,963.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 150.00 yen versus the 151.47 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Wednesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0447 compared to yesterday’s $1.0423.

Asia

Asian stocks retreated on Thursday as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January policy meeting revealed concerns over inflation risks and U.S. President Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy heightened tensions in the ongoing conflict.

Trump called Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky a “dictator” after the latter said the U.S. president was “living in a disinformation space” governed by Moscow.

The Japanese yen hit its strongest level in over two months on BoJ rate hike bets and concerns about new tariff threats from Trump.

China’s yuan got a lift after Trump said “it’s possible” for the U.S. and China to have a new trade deal and that he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the United States, without giving a timeline for the trip.

Earlier in the day, China’s central bank left benchmark lending rates unchanged, as widely expected.

Gold scaled a new record high on tariff concerns and uncertain outlooks for both global trade and inflation.

Oil prices fluctuated as investors weighed supply concerns against reports of rising crude inventories in the U.S.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 3,350.78 after a choppy session.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.6 percent to 22,576.98 as real estate and tech stocks fell on Trump’s tariff threats. Alibaba declined 2.2 percent and Baidu lost 3.1 percent.

Japanese stocks fell sharply as the latest Fed meeting minutes revealed that the U.S. central bank is in no rush to cut interest rates.

The Nikkei 225 Index slumped 1.2 percent to 38,678. 04, while the broader Topix Index settled 1.2 percent lower at 2,734.60.

A stronger yen weighed on exporters, with automakers Honda, Toyota and Nissan falling 1-3 percent. Tech conglomerate SoftBank declined 2.1 percent.

Seoul stocks ended lower, with shipbuilding, machinery, and power equipment stocks falling due to tariff pressures and budget cuts from the Trump administration. The Kospi fell 0.7 percent to 2,654.06.

Australian markets ended lower on fears of a less dovish RBA rate path. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 1.2 percent to 8,322.80, dragged down by banking and mining stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed down 1.1 percent at 8,601.70.

Rio Tinto fell 1.5 percent after the miner reported its smallest annual profit in five years. Smaller rival Fortescue Metals plummeted 6.2 percent on disappointing first-half results.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index ended 1.2 percent lower at 12,880.36.

Europe

European shares are turning in a mixed performance on Thursday after suffering heavy losses in the previous session amid tariff concerns and uncertainty over U.S. rate cuts.

In economic news, German producer prices climbed 0.5 percent on a yearly basis in January following a 0.8 percent increase in December, data from Destatis revealed today. This was the third consecutive increase.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.3 percent.

The dollar index was subdued as Treasury yields continued to fall. Eurozone government bond yields stabilized after rising for four days.

Lloyds Banking Group has rallied after saying it set £700 million aside to cover the potential impact of historical commission arrangements on car loans.

Mining giant Anglo American has also surged after taking another write-down on its struggling De Beers diamond unit and posting a slide in profit.

Electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric has also spiked after it forecast a bigger than expected rise in its 2025 profit margin.

Siemens has also jumped after the German engineering firm said it would raise about €1.4 billion ($1.5 billion) from the sale of a roughly 2.3 percent stake in its healthcare subsidiary Siemens Healthineers AG.

On the other hand, aircraft maker Airbus has moved to the downside after delaying the launch of its A350 freighter model to 2027.

John Wood Group shares have also fallen. The chief financial officer at the embattled engineer has stepped down with immediate effect after inaccuracies in his qualifications came to light.

Drug maker Indivior has plummeted as it projected a 17 percent decline in 2025 net revenue at the midpoint of its forecast range.

French hotel group Accor has also slumped as its net profit, group share, for fiscal year 2024 declined to 610 million euros from last year’s 633 million.

Mercedes-Benz has also tumbled. The German luxury automaker has launched a new cost-cutting plan after reporting a 40.5 percent drop in annual earnings.

Dutch insurer Aegon has also shown a significant move to the downside after reporting disappointing full-year results.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 15th.

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 219,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 214,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Meanwhile, the report said the less volatile four-week moving average edged down to 215,250, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 216,250.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also released a report showing Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in the month of February, although the index of activity in the sector pulled back sharply.

The Philly Fed said its diffusion index for current general activity plunged to 18.1 in February after skyrocketing to 44.3 in January, but a positive reading still indicates growth. Economists had expected the index to slump to 20.0.

Looking ahead, the Philly Fed said firms continue to expect growth over the next six months, although expectations were less widespread.

At 9:45 am ET, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee is scheduled to participate in a moderated question-and-answer session before the Chicagoland Chamber Mid-Market Chicago event.

The Conference Board is due to release its report on leading economic indicators in the month of January at 10 am ET. The leading economic index is expected to come in unchanged in January after edging down by 0.1 percent in December.

At 11 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended February 14th. Crude oil inventories are expected to increase by 3.0 million barrels after jumping by 4.1 million barrels in the previous week.

The Treasury Department is also due to announce the details of this month’s auctions of two-year, five-year and seven-year notes at 11 am ET.

At 12:05 pm ET, St. Louis Federal Reserve President Alberto Musalem is scheduled to speak and participate in a moderated conversation on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Economic Club of New York.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is due to speak on “Supervision and Regulation” at the Georgetown University Law Center at 2 pm ET.

At 5 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler is scheduled to speak on “Navigating Inflation Waves While Riding on the Phillips Curve” before the 2025 Whittington Lecture event hosted by Georgetown University.