U.S. stocks moved lower Thursday as rising Treasury yields renewed pressure on equities and Walmart’s sharp post-earnings decline dragged on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also slipped as investors weighed stronger economic data, persistent inflation risks and another rise in oil prices.
Dow Jones Drops as Walmart Slides
By about 10 a.m. ET, the Dow was down roughly 0.6%, while the S&P 500 had lost about 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite was off about 0.3%. The early weakness followed a brief easing in bond-market stress Wednesday.
Walmart was the standout drag. Shares dropped more than 8% after the retailer reported U.S. comparable sales growth of 2.6%, below the 3.8% increase analysts expected. Revenue still rose 5.9% to about $187.9 billion, while adjusted earnings topped estimates, but investors focused on slower store sales and cautious guidance.
Higher gasoline prices have also pressured lower-income shoppers and discretionary spending. Walmart’s results therefore added to questions about how long U.S. consumers can absorb elevated living costs.
Walmart Stock Drops After Q2 Sales Miss. Source: Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio)
Consumer staples fell about 1.6%, while consumer discretionary stocks were also among the weakest groups. Amazon and Tesla declined, although gains in Nvidia and Apple helped limit the broader market’s losses.
Treasury Yields and Fed Policy Pressure Stocks
The bond market remained a bigger concern for Wall Street. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to about 4.70%, while the 30-year yield reached roughly 5.24%, reversing part of Wednesday’s decline.
Higher yields raise financing costs and can make high stock valuations harder to justify. They also reflect continuing concern about inflation and U.S. government borrowing.
That concern received support from fresh economic data. Initial jobless claims fell to 206,000 in the week ended Aug. 15, indicating that layoffs remain limited. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing index jumped to 47.4 in August from 41.4 in July, its highest level since April 2021.
Federal Reserve minutes released Wednesday showed that inflation remains a central concern. Several policymakers were prepared to support a quarter-point rate increase at the Fed’s July meeting, while three officials formally voted for a hike.
Crypto-Linked Stocks Buck the Broader Sell-Off
Some crypto-related stocks moved in the opposite direction. Strategy gained more than 6%, while Coinbase rose more than 5% after President Donald Trump called on Congress to advance crypto legislation.
The move added to an unusual divergence between digital assets and U.S. equities this week, with crypto markets strengthening as the S&P 500 pulled back from recent highs.
Crypto Market Cap Rises as S&P 500 Falls. Source: Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio)
Dow Jones Faces Resistance Near 54,800
Despite Thursday’s decline, the Dow’s longer-term weekly trend remains elevated. The supplied TradingView chart places major resistance near 54,800, just above the index’s recent highs.
A sustained weekly break above that area would strengthen the bullish structure. A rejection, however, could keep the Dow in consolidation and shift attention toward the rising trend-support area near 49,800.
Dow Jones Weekly Chart Shows 54,800 Resistance. Source: Pankaj Jain (@EyeOn_Trade)
For the rest of Thursday’s session, Treasury yields remain the key signal. Continued increases in long-term yields could keep pressure on the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq, while stabilization in bonds would improve the chances of an intraday recovery.
