© Reuters.
Investing.com — U.S. stock futures slipped lower Thursday, retreating after investors fretted about the full-year guidance provide by retail giant Walmart (NYSE:).
By 07:45 ET (12:45 GMT), the contract was 89 points, or 0.3%, lower, traded 8 points, or 0.2%, lower and dropped 45 points, or 0.3%.
Walmart guidance disappoints
Walmart (NYSE:), the largest retailer in the U.S., posted net income of $453 million, or 17 cents a share, for the third quarter, a massive improvement from a loss of $1.8 billion, or 66 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.
However, its guidance for the whole of 2023 disappointed investors, with its stock falling over 7% premarket, offsetting a profit and sales beat for the third quarter.
This guidance added to worries for the holiday quarter after fellow retailer Target pointed to lingering pressures on U.S. consumers from trends like higher interest rates and lower savings.
Macy’s (NYSE:), on the other hand, soared premarket after the department store chain exceeded expectations in the third quarter and lifted its full-year guidance.
Additionally, Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:) stock dropped sharply premarket after the company cut its full-year revenue and profit forecasts in a sign that demand for its networking equipment was slowing.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:) stock fell after the cybersecurity company posted solid first-quarter results but issued second-quarter and full-year billing guidance below estimates.
Economic data deluge
There is more data to digest Thursday, in the form of weekly , and for October, and the for November, as well as a series of Fed speakers.
Fed officials meet next month for the last time this year to decide on interest rates, with futures markets widely expecting the U.S. central bank to leave interest rates unchanged in December, before cutting next spring if conditions continue to show improvement.
The main indices on Wall Street closed higher Wednesday, aided by the largest monthly drop in since 2020 in October, which bolstered expectations that the could have ended its interest rate increases.
The 30-stock added over 160 points, or 0.5%, while the benchmark gained 0.2% and the tech-heavy rose 0.1%, adding to Tuesday’s sharp gains.
Sentiment was also boosted by the news that the U.S. Senate passed a stopgap spending bill and sent it to President Joe Biden to sign into law before a weekend deadline, avoiding a damaging partial government shutdown.
Oil slips as U.S. inventories rise
Oil prices retreated Thursday after U.S. inventories rose more than expected, adding to concerns over lackluster energy demand from China.
By 07:45 ET, the futures traded 0.9% lower at $76.98 a barrel, while the contract dropped 0.9% to $80.45 a barrel.
Data from the U.S. showed that U.S. crude stocks rose a more than expected 3.6 million barrels in the week to November 10, while U.S. production remained at record highs of 13.2 million barrels per day through the week.
In Asia, China’s oil refinery throughput eased in October from the previous month’s highs as industrial fuel demand weakened and refining margins narrowed.
Additionally, rose 0.1% to $1,966.65/oz, while traded flat at 1.0846.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)
