PARIS, Aug 16 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened in disarray on Tuesday after early quarterly results from the retail sector, including Walmart, which supported the Dow, while the other two Wall Street indices were affected fears about inflation and recession after the recent equity rally.
Fifteen minutes after the first exchanges, the Dow Jones index gained 15.91 points, or 0.05%, to 33,928.35 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500, wider, however fell 0.17% to 4,289.53 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.53%, or 69.62 points, to 13,058.42.
Walmart announced on Tuesday that it now expects a lower annual profit decline than previously anticipated, as promotions and lower fuel prices have enabled it to exceed expectations for the quarter ended at the end of July.
The title of the number one retailer in the United States jumped 5.4%, dragging in its wake Kohl’s 1%, Macy’s, Costco Wholesale and Best Buy, which rose from 1.8% to 3.2%.
Home Depot takes 1.79%, the giant of DIY and home improvement stores having published on Tuesday a quarterly turnover higher than .
The distribution compartment gains 0.61%, while that of mass consumption advances by 0.78%.
Excluding distribution, technology stocks fell like Apple (-0.3%) or Microsoft, which lost around 0.3%.
Exxon Mobil is also in the red, in the wake of a further decline in crude oil prices due to fears over Chinese demand after economic indicators deemed disappointing.
Investor sentiment is still bearish, but more in an “apocalyptic” way, according to BofA’s monthly survey of global fund managers released on Tuesday.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq rebounded 24% from its mid-June low and among S&P-500 companies that have already reported results, 77.6% have so far exceeded analysts’ estimates, according to data from Refinitiv.