Futures fall after Walmart warning spooks retail stocks

[July 26, 2022]    (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday after Walmart's profit warning rippled through the retail sector and heightened fears that consumers were cutting back on discretionary spending in the face of decades-high inflation.

Walmart Inc's shares slumped 9.1% in premarket trading, while Target and Amazon.com fell 5%, souring the mood as some of America's biggest companies report in what is set to be the busiest week of the earnings season.

Along with high inflation, a stronger dollar is also expected to pressure earnings of companies with sprawling global operations.

Investors are also bracing for a widely expected 75 basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve at the end of its two-day policy meeting, which gets under way later on Tuesday.

In other data, the Conference Board is expected to show its consumer confidence index likely dropped 97.2 in July from 98.7 in the prior month.

At 6:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 157 points, or 0.49%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 16 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 61 points, or 0.49%.

Among other Dow components, Coca-Cola Co gained 1% after the company raised its full-year revenue forecast, while McDonald's Corp beat quarterly comparable sales expectations, sending its shares up 0.2%.

3M Co rose 0.7% after the industrial giant said it plans to spin off its healthcare business. The company also reported a fall in second quarter profit.

General Electric Co rose 6% after the U.S. industrial conglomerate beat its revenue and profit estimates led by strong growth in its aviation business.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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