NEW YORK, Nov 16 — Wall Street stocks were retreated early today as markets digested warnings from a major retailer about a weak holiday shopping season, although US retail sales data suggested some resilience among consumers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 per cent to 33,554.47 about 25 minutes into the trading session.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.6 per cent to 3,969.36, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1 per cent to 11,230.9.
The movements came after big-box retailer Target reported weaker-than-expected profits in its fiscal third quarter, citing an “increasingly challenging environment.”
As households grapple with stubbornly high inflation, US retailers have had to contend with a gloomier profit environment and ebbing demand, as well as consumers on the hunt for bargains.
Target warned that softening sales and profit trends persisted into November, adding it would be “prudent” to plan for outcomes centering around a low-single digit decline in comparable sales.
But Target competitor Walmart was more upbeat, and raised its full-year outlook yesterday, though that was in large part due to growing demand for low-cost groceries.
US retail sales data, also released before the markets opened, pointed to some resilience in spending in the face of price pressures.
Sales rose more than expected, increasing 1.3 per cent in October, boosted by autos but also by high gas prices, amid a slight decline in discretionary segments such as electronics and appliance stores, according to the Commerce Department report.
In other data, industrial output slowed in October and September’s result was revised lower, due to tepid manufacturing gains and slowing oil production.
Target shares fell 14.6 per cent in early trading, while was up 0.9 per cent. — AFP
