S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq slip as Walmart sinks on cautious outlook

Yahoo Finance’s Laura Bratton reports:

Alibaba’s (BABA) US-listed stock surged 9% on Thursday after the Chinese tech giant’s results delivered an earnings beat and revealed an aggressive push into AI.

“Our AI momentum remains robust with AI related product revenue sustaining triple digit growth for the sixth consecutive quarter,” Alibaba CFO Toby Xu told analysts on a call Thursday morning.

Read more here.

The Consumer Discretionary (XLC) and Financials (XLF) sectors led market losses in early trading on Thursday.

Shares of Walmart (WMT) slid more than 5% after the retail giant issued a cautious outlook. Other consumer-oriented stocks fell along with Walmart, including Target (TGT), Costco (COST), and BJ’s Wholesale (BJ).

Healthcare (XLV) and Energy (XLE) stocks were in the green territory as the major averages sank.

The major averages opened lower on Thursday as shares of Walmart (WMT) slid more than 4% after the company issued a conservative outlook and investors digested the potential impact of President Trump’s tariff and government overhaul policies.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) edged back 0.2% from its record closing high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped 0.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also backed off nearly 0.2%.

Walmart’s quarterly profit and revenue met high expectations, but the company’s outlook for 2025 was putting pressure on the stock on Thursday morning.

For its fiscal year 2026, Walmart issued conservative guidance, as it has done for the last two years. The company anticipates net sales to increase between 3% and 4%.

Meanwhile, industries across the board are assessing what President Trump’s evolving tariff policies will mean for business.

On Thursday, shares of software contractor Palantir (PLTR) extended declines from the previous session following a report of an 8% cut in Pentagon spending over the next five years.

Online car retailer Carvana (CVNA) posted stronger-than-expected revenue and profit on Wednesday as it continues to emerge from a period of turbulence.

Despite the earnings beat, investors hit the brakes on the stock. Carvana shares fell over 8% in premarket trading on Thursday, having recently hit a fresh 52-week high.

Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:

Read more here.

Walmart (WMT) was the highlight of Thursday’s earnings docket, as the retailer beat on earnings and showed it continued to be a destination for inflation-weary shoppers.

But its stock was down some 8% in premarket trading as it guided cautiously for the upcoming year.

Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma reports:

Read more here.

Worries about geopolitics grew after President Trump called his Ukrainian counterpart a «dictator,» driving a rush to gold and other less-risky assets on Thursday.

Bloomberg reports:

Read more here.