Transcript:
Conway Gittens: I’m Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Stocks ended off the lows of Tuesday’s trading range as investors gauged the risk of a wider European military conflict. Here at home, housing starts tumbled 6.9 percent in October, led by regions hit by hurricane activity.
Related: Walmart issues inflation warning as Trump preps massive tariff hikes
Investors on Wednesday will focus on quarterly results from Nvidia, Snowflake, Target and TJMaxx parent TJX.
Turning now to other news: Walmart is warning that a tit-for-tat tariff war will hurt U.S. consumers. The warning to the incoming Trump administration follows solid quarterly results from the world’s largest retailer. The U.S. consumer kept on spending through autumn even though they said the economy was their top worry during the November elections.
Walmart took in roughly $170 billion in worldwide sales during the quarter. The vast majority of that came from U.S. consumers. Sales jumped 5 percent to $115 billion from the same period in 2023. Walmart said shoppers came to its physical and online stores more often and spent more than they did last year. And consumers weren’t just buying stuff. Walmart says consumers were also willing to pay more to get their online deliveries faster. Walmart is so giddy about its view of the consumer that it once again raised its full-year outlook.
Gas prices are down and inflation has ebbed, which means consumers have more to spend this holiday shopping season. All of this bodes well for shopping trends this year. Walmart, however, isn’t sure about 2025. The retailer warns if Trump’s tariff plans drive its costs higher, then prices at the check-out are likely to follow suit.
That’ll do it for your Daily Briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
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