The markets were lower today after 6 consecutive days higher. The Dow 30 was lower by 256 thanks mostly to Walmart, the S&P 500 sold off 15, and the Nasdaq 100 lost only 5 thanks to the tech space. Tomorrow investors will get a look at manufacturing numbers along with existing home sales. Both of which can be market moving numbers.
Walmart (WMT ) was one of the main focus stocks today as the company announced earnings for the previous quarter that were weaker than expected. The company showed that their online sales were below expectations which called into question again their ability to compete with their main rival Amazon (AMZN ). The company has been making strides to convert Sams club stores to distribution centers but this is all recent and investors are looking for a faster response. Shares were lower by 10.18% on the day, dragging down the Dow on the day.
Amazon (AMZN ) announced today that it would offer prime members who use their Prime Rewards Visa card at their newly acquired, Whole Foods will get a 5% cash back bonus. If you are not a prime member but still have the card you will get 3% cash back. Though there was question on Wall Street if this was due to a slower than expected growth, investors seemed to cheer the reward by pushing shares higher by 1%.
In other news it seems that KFC (YUM ) has run out of chicken to serve at their stores in the UK. The company said that they will have to temporarily close 800 stores thanks to some "teething problems" with it's new delivery contactor, DHL. The shipping company has stopped chicken deliveries which seems to point to a payment issue but no word from either company on this. There also has been no update as to when the chicken will get back on track.