Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones fell into the red late Tuesday after a strong rally Monday as investors combed through mixed results from some of the country’s major retailers, plus more in today’s Closing Bell on Money & Markets.
The Top Story
Home improvement chain Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) fell 2.7% after missing quarterly profit estimates due to higher costs while department store operator Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS) slumped 7.6% after reporting a bigger-than-expected loss.
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) fell 2.2% after exceeding expectations for quarterly revenue and earnings as online sales soared due to stockpiling of essentials during the coronavirus lockdown.
The S&P 500 retailing index fell 1.2% overall.
Gains in tech-focused companies including Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) gave some of the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading lower, led by real estate and energy stocks. Technology and consumer discretionary stocks posted the biggest percentage gains.
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP) climbed 3.6% after the company said same-store sales improved significantly at the start of the second quarter.
The Dow Jones was down 0.6%. The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower and the Nasdaq was up by 0.3%.
Stock Market Update: Closing Bell*
S&P 500: 2,922 (-1.05%)
DOW: 24,206 (-1.59%)
NASDAQ: 9185 (-0.54%)
GOLD: $1,749 (+0.84%)
BITCOIN: $9,652.64 (-0.24%)
U.S. 10-YEAR YIELD: 0.69% (-0.049%)
*- as of 4:15 p.m.
A Big Win
In this morning’s Opening Bell, we told you about Baidu Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU) beating analyst expectations for revenue and earnings in the first quarter. It also provided an upbeat forecast for Q2. Shares of Baidu rose 2%.
We also told you about Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT). The company posted a 10% boost in same-store sales due to increased demand in groceries and household essentials. Online sales jumped 74%. After an early rally, shares of Walmart fell 2.2%.
Finally, we mentioned SmileDirectClub Inc. (Nasdaq: SDC) and its pending defamation lawsuit against Comcast Corp.’s (Nasdaq: CMCSA) NBCUniversal. Shares of the teledentistry company rose more than 5.9%.
Golden Nuggets
Precious metal futures traded higher as global stock markets firmed up. Buyers consolidated after early gains and moved back into metals in the afternoon.
Gold futures traded 0.8% higher at $1,749 an ounce.
“Fundamentals for gold have never been better in history. Unless we have more optimism about the vaccine, we will begin to see an upward momentum to a new high,” said Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments. “Any news of a setback in re-integration of businesses into the economy will ultimately lead gold higher.”
Silver futures continued to mount a strong rally, jumping 2.3% to trade at $17.87 an ounce.
Platinum moved up 2.6% to $892.20 an ounce while palladium continued to drive over the $2,000 mark, gaining 2.2% to $2,071.10 an ounce.
Cannabis Corner
Cannabis giant Acreage Holdings said it is planning to further reduce costs by selling an operation in North Dakota and undeveloped real estate in Massachusetts.
According to Marijuana Business Daily, the company will take a pretax charge between $80 million and $100 million for the quarter ending March 31, 2020, due to the operational changes.
In an email to the publication, Acreage Vice President of Communications Howard Schacter said the overhead cuts were not related to jobs.
Top Business Leaders Ask Congress for $1T More in Relief
Nearly 100 business leaders and California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to Congress asking for an additional $1 trillion to help state and local governments hit hard by the coronavirus.
The letter, signed by executives from Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) and Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), said the funds would help with programs like contact tracing and testing, according to CNBC.
The House of Representatives recently passed a $3 trillion stimulus package, but that bill is unlikely to pass the Senate.
Today’s Big Winners:
S&P 500: HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) +3.8%
Nasdaq: Workday Inc. (Nasdaq: WDAY) +4.6%
Dow: Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) +0.5%
Today’s Big Losers:
S&P 500: TechnipFMC PLC (NYSE: FTI) -6.8%
Nasdaq: T-Mobile US Inc. (Nasdaq: TMUS) -3.2%
Dow: Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) -2.7%
Check back for the most important news and numbers each day after the Closing Bell, only on Money & Markets.