Stocks Open Mostly Lower After Holiday
(AP) -- U.S. stocks were mostly lower in the early going Tuesday as trading reopened after a long holiday weekend. Disappointing earnings from Walmart weighed on the market, which was coming off a six-day winning streak. Losses in consumer-focused stocks and other sectors outweighed gains in energy companies and banks.
KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 9 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,722 as of 10:03 a.m. Eastern Time. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 168 points, or 0.7 percent, to 25,050. The Nasdaq gained 4 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,244.
BIG-BOX BUMMER: Walmart shares slumped 9.1 percent after the retailer reported fourth-quarter results that missed Wall Street's expectations as its e-commerce sales in the U.S. slowed. The world's largest retailer also announced better-than-expected sales overall and higher customer counts as the company overhauls its stores and its online services. The stock was the biggest decliner in the S&P 500, shedding $9.54 to $95.24. Several big retailers also declined, including Target, which slid $3.19, or 4.2 percent, to $71.89.
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FASHIONABLE EXIT: Gap gave up 4.2 percent after the clothing chain said the CEO of the Gap brand will leave the company. Jeff Kirwan has been with the company since 2004 and has led the namesake brand since the end of 2014. The stock slid $1.39 to $31.88.
HOUSING BOOST: Home Depot rose after its latest quarterly results beat analyst estimates. The home-improvement giant benefited from strong demand for its wares amid a robust housing market and ongoing hurricane recovery work in the Southeast and Puerto Rico. Its shares added 43 cents to $187.40.
CHIPPER DEAL: NXP Semiconductor jumped 6.2 percent after Qualcomm raised its offer for the company to $127.50 a share, or $43.22 billion, from $110 a share. The move comes as Broadcom is trying to buy Qualcomm. Shares in NXP added $7.33 to $125.83. Qualcomm lost $2.71, or 4.2 percent, to $62.14.
DRUGSTORE BUY: Rite Aid gained 1.9 percent after grocery store operator Albertsons agreed to buy more than 2,500 of its stores. Rite Aid agreed to sell almost 2,000 locations to Walgreens last year after a larger deal fell apart. Albertsons owns brands including Safeway. The deal will double the amount of drugstores it owns. Rite Aid's stock, which has shed more than half its value over the past year, rose 4 cents to $2.17.
BOND YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.90 percent from 2.88 percent late Friday.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 23 cents to $61.91 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, was down 56 cents at $65.11 a barrel.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 107.13 yen from 106.30 yen on Friday. The euro weakened to $1.2357 from $1.2413.
MARKETS OVERSEAS: Germany's DAX rose 0.5 percent, while France's CAC 40 gained 0.5 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent. Earlier in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched lower. South Korea's Kospi lost 1.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8 percent. Stocks were mixed in Southeast Asia, while markets in mainland China were still closed for lunar new year holidays.
(BE)