By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Markets closed lower Tuesday after Monday’s big rally as U.S. consumers may be slowing spending.
Pharma retailers fell after Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) said it’s jumping into the drug business.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that retail sales rose 0.3% last month, missing economists’ forecast for a 0.5% rise. The retail sales control group climbed 0.1%, well short of expectations for a 0.5% increase. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), nonetheless, reported earnings and revenue that topped estimates, while Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) reported blow-out earnings per share of $3.18.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said both monetary and fiscal stimulus would be needed to support the economic recovery, which still has a “long way to go.”
Cyclical stocks were also lower, with materials and financials among the biggest decliners.
Here are three things that may move markets tomorrow:
1. Attention shoppers
We’ll get earnings reports from some Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), TJX Companies Inc (NYSE:TJX) and Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW), following Walmart’s bigger-than-expected bump in quarterly same-store sales reported today. Watch for probable pickups in traffic and same-store sales for Target, which analysts expect to rack up $20.7 billion in sales. For TJX, sales should be $9.4 billion, while for Lowe’s the consensus is for $21 billion. Keep an eye out for commentary on fourth quarter trends with the Covid resurgence.
2. Housing health
October housing starts and building permits information is due at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT). Economists expect upticks in both as demand for new construction remains high amid the pandemic. Consensus for housing starts is 146,000, which would be an increase from September’s 141,500. Look for permits to come in at 156,000, up from 154,500.
3. Fed speakers
If you like hearing from central bankers, Wednesday offers up four. New York Fed President John Williams (NYSE:WMB) and St. Louis’s James Bullard and Atlanta’s Raphael Bostic all take part in separate webinars, while Dallas chief Robert Kaplan moderates a discussion hosted by his own bank.