© Reuters.
Investing.com – The Dow closed lower on Tuesday, as energy stocks slumped and retailers fell after disappointing quarterly results from Home Depot .
The index was down 1%, or 336 points, the index was down 0.1% and the index was down 0.6%.
The Home Depot (NYSE:) fell more than 2% after reporting quarterly revenue that fell short of Wall Street expectations, weighed down by falling lumber prices and a weaker start to spring.
“We look at these negative results and see an incremental negative reading for Lowe’s (NYSE: ) and other building retailers,” Wedbush said in a statement, as the broader retail sector fell more than 1% on the day.
Sentiment towards retailers was also hurt by data showing US retail sales fell short of expectations in April, signaling declining consumer strength.
Retail sales were “hamstered by weak stationary sales, surprising given the rise in pump prices over the month,” Jefferies said.
Energies acted as a drag on markets as weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data overshadowed expectations of rising energy demand.
The International Energy Agency has raised its forecast for global oil demand by 200,000 barrels a day to a record 102 million barrels a day.
Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:), Halliburton Company (NYSE:) e Targa Resources Inc (NYSE:) were among the biggest bears in the energy sector.
Tech stocks resumed their bull run, led by Google (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:), with the latter boosted by progress in its $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:) for $69 billion after the deal was approved by the Union European one day earlier.
Approval of the deal by EU regulators is a “positive boost” for theMicrosoft appeal against the UK competition regulator, which recently blocked the deal.
Financials continued to lead the broader market, albeit a 2% gain Capital One (NYSE: ) helped keep losses under control after Berkshire Hathaway di Warren Buffet (NYSE:) has taken on a new position of almost 1 billion dollars in the society.
The statements of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen weighed on the market, reiterating that the United States could go into default as early as June 1st if Congress fails to find an agreement to raise the debt ceiling.
President Joe Biden is expected to cut short his trip to the G-7 leaders’ summit to step up efforts to make progress on the debt ceiling deal.