Wall Street opens lower, with investors weighing July retail sales data and new feedback from the retail world to intercept further clues about the health of consumption.
After the opening bell, the US lists positioned themselves on sales, with the Dow Jones and the S & P500 falling by 0.65% and 0.86% respectively, while the Nasdaq lost 1.21%. The market’s attention remains focused on the Fed’s future moves ahead of the September meeting. Meanwhile, the FOMC minutes relating to the last meeting of the US central bank are expected to be published tonight.
On the macro side, retail sales came out today and remained unchanged in July on a monthly basis (+ 0.0%) compared to + 0.8% in the past survey (revised data from + 1%). The market was expecting a figure of +0.1 percent. Excluding cars and gasoline, the figure showed growth of 0.7% in line with the past reading (Bloomberg consensus at + 0.4%).
For the US earnings season, the retail sector is under the lens. Yesterday they released the quarterly accounts Walmart and Home Depot, while today it was the turn of Lowe’s and Target. The latter recorded a new splash in profits. In detail, the US retailer reported second-quarter net income of $ 183 million, or 39 cents per share, for the three-month period ending July 30, down nearly 90% from 1.82 billion. a year earlier. Expectations of a less violent drop to 79 cents per share (consensus FactSet) were disappointing. Already in the first quarter, Target had reported profits down by 52% compared to the period a year ago.