Wall Street drops as growth stocks slump, Target hits retail stocks

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, US, August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Wednesday, with growth stocks under pressure after bond yields surged minutes before the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, while weak results from Target pushed the retail sector lower.

Retail earnings have been mixed so far this week, with Target Corp (TGT.N) It fell 3.3% after reporting a 90% drop in quarterly profit as its inflation-hit customers curbed spending on discretionary goods. Read more

Retail S&P 500 (.SPXRT) It fell 1.7% after jumping 1.9% in the previous session on the back of encouraging quarterly earnings from Walmart. (WMT.N) The Home Depot Inc (HD.N).

The data showed that US retail sales were unchanged in July as lower gasoline prices affected receipts at service stations. However, consumer spending appears to be faltering, which could further alleviate fears that the economy was in a recession. Read more

High-growth and technology stocks like Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) And Nvidia Inc (NVDA.O) It fell more than 2.5% each as US Treasury yields rose for the second consecutive session.

Investors expect that the Fed minutes will likely reaffirm the central bank’s focus on raising interest rates until inflation is under control. Read more

“We have a long way to go from 8% inflation to somewhere where the rates are normal,” said Charlie Ryan, portfolio manager at Evercore Wealth Management.

“The biggest risk is what we will do if we get bad inflation data this month without the Fed meeting.”

Most of the major S&P 500 sectors were trading in the red by midday, while energy stocks were trading (.SPNY) It rose, tracking gains in crude oil prices.

The S&P 500 has recovered nearly 17% from its lows in mid-June, with the latest support coming from hopes that inflation has peaked after weaker-than-expected data earlier this month.

The benchmark also came close to breaking above its 200-day moving average on Tuesday, a key technical level it hasn’t closed above since early April.

Traders see an almost equal chance of a 50 basis point and 75 basis point Fed hike in September. FEDWATCH

At 12:03 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) The Standard & Poor’s Index fell 273.08 points, or 0.80%, to 33878.93 points (.SPX) The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 45.89 points, or 1.07%, to 4,259.31 points (nineteenth) It was down 217.65 points, or 1.66%, to 12884.90 points.

Upbeat corporate earnings also helped boost the recovery in US stocks this quarter, but some investors are pointing to potential risks ahead for earnings that could dampen momentum. Read more

Lowe’s Cos Inc . Home Improvement Series (LOW.N) It rose 0.8% after posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Read more

Declining issues outnumbered advanced stocks by 6.06 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange and 3.96 to 1 on the Nasdaq.

The S&P recorded three new 52-week highs and 29 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 41 new lows.

Additional reporting by Bansari Mayor Kamdar, Devik Jain and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Edited by Shunak Dasgupta

Our criteria: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.