Stock Market Today: Dow Dives 697 Points After Home Depot Revenue Miss
While Home Depot earnings disappointed, fellow blue-chip retailer Walmart climbed after its quarterly results.


It was a rough start to the holiday-shortened week as rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Russia – and a rare revenue miss from Home Depot (HD) – sent stocks tumbling Tuesday.
Investors also got hit with some stronger-than-expected economic data, which heightened fears that the Fed could keep interest rates higher for longer. All of this sparked a risk-off session that resulted in substantial losses for the major benchmarks.
Geopolitical headlines from over the weekend created shaky footing for stocks ahead of Tuesday's opening bell. Specifically, U.S. President Joe Biden made a surprise appearance in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. This unexpected visit was followed by reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is suspending the country's participation in a nuclear arms treaty with the United States.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Headwinds for the broad market only strengthened after an early morning earnings report from major retailer Home Depot. Shares slid 7.1% – easily making HD the worst Dow Jones stock today – after the home improvement retailer reported modest year-over-year increases in its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue. However, revenue fell short of Wall Street's consensus estimate, the first time HD has missed on the top line since November 2018. The company also saw a 6% year-over-year decline in customer transactions, though inflation boosted the average ticket cost.
As for today's economic data, the S&P Global flash services purchasing managers index (PMI) and manufacturing PMI both came in higher than expected. But while the latter showed factory activity increased from January to February, it is still in contraction territory.
"The U.S. economy is finding its balance as demand for services picked up in February," says Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial. "A tight labor market and resilient consumer demand could goad the Federal Reserve to maintain its rate hiking campaign into the summertime. Investors should expect volatility until markets and central bankers come to agreement on the expected path for interest rates."
At the close, the Nasdaq Composite was off 2.5% at 11,492, the S&P 500 was 2.0% lower at 3,997, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.1% at 33,129.
Walmart stock shines after earnings
One name that showed resilience today was big-box retailer Walmart (WMT). The company reported top- and bottom-line beats for Q4, and said it saw an 8.3% rise in same-store sales and a 17% jump in e-commerce sales. Additionally, in the company's earnings call, Chief Financial Officer John Rainey said inventory was flat on a year-over-year basis, and down 3% for Walmart U.S. Excess inventory was a major concern for retailers in mid-2022.
This sent WMT stock up 0.6% today, making it the best Dow Jones stock – and the only blue chip that finished higher. In addition to its solid earnings report, WMT benefited from being one of the best consumer staples stocks around. This sector typically outperforms in periods of market turbulence for several reasons, including the fact that its constituents sell items that people need in both good times and bad, such as toilet paper or packaged foods. A number also happen to be some of the best dividend stocks on Wall Street, offering consistent and reliable income to help offset broad-market declines.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Rises 854 Points From Its Intraday Low
If there's one thing markets hate, it's uncertainty. But uncertainty is all they're getting these days.
By David Dittman Published
-
Are You a Retirement Millionaire Too Scared To Spend?
If you are too scared to spend money in retirement, you may be saddled with regret. Here are three ways to safely enjoy your sizable retirement nest egg.
By Donna Fuscaldo Published
-
Stock Market Today: Markets Celebrate Trump's Tariff Détente
Consumer discretionary stocks led 10 of the 11 S&P 500 sector groups well into the green.
By David Dittman Published
-
Walmart's Transformative Ways Spark a 100,000% Stock Return
Walmart's strategic store expansion and relentless cost-cutting have catapulted its share price over the years.
By Louis Navellier Published
-
Home Depot's Winning Ways Fueled Its 100,000% Return
Home Depot's wide moat leaves little room for competition – and shareholders have profited as a result.
By Louis Navellier Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Dives 748 Points as UnitedHealth Sells Off
A services-sector contraction and a worse-than-anticipated consumer sentiment reading sent bulls scrambling Friday.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Growth Concerns Drag on Stocks
Forward-looking commentary from a major retailer outweighed its backward-looking results as all three major equity indexes retreated on Thursday.
By David Dittman Published
-
Walmart Is the Worst Dow Jones Stock After Earnings. Here's Why
Walmart stock is sinking Thursday as the retail giant's dreary outlook offsets a fourth-quarter earnings beat and dividend hike. Here's what you need to know.
By Joey Solitro Published
-
CPI Report Puts the Kibosh on Rate Cuts: What the Experts Are Saying About Inflation
CPI Consumer price inflation reared its ugly head to start the year, dashing hopes for the Fed to lower borrowing costs anytime soon.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
How Do Tariffs Impact the Stock Market?
There are plenty of moving parts when it comes to tariffs. Here, we look at what impact tariffs have on the stock market and your portfolio.
By Charles Lewis Sizemore, CFA Published