Dow Jones Flat After Weak Earnings Report from Home Depot

Garrett Baldwin

The Dow Jones is off this morning as investors turn to the latest rounds of earnings reports across the country. On tap, keep an eye out for the latest numbers from Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD).

Plus: How far can the airline industry fall in the COVID-19 crisis? Read on for everything moving the Dow today.

Here are the numbers from Monday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:

Here are the most important market events and stories that I'm following right now.

The Top Stock Market Stories for Tuesday

• Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) shares popped nearly 5% this morning. The company reported a massive uptick in online sales during the social distancing shutdown. The company announced it hired an additional 200,000 employees across the United States. The workforce would help stock shelves, clean stores, and help meet the surge in demand from the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm said online orders increased by 74% year over year. Same-store sales popped by 10% during Q1 2020.

• Meanwhile, Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) shares dropped about 2% after the company saw a net income decline during Q1 of 10.7%. While the firm said that same-store sales remained strong, rising costs due to COVID-19 affected its profitability. Those costs, which included more overtime and bonus pay to retain workers, cost the firm about $640 million after taxes, or roughly $0.60 for every share of stock.
• We're keeping tabs on the latest COVID-19 updates. Johns Hopkins University reports that the number of global cases has now topped 4.8 million, with 1.5 million of those cases happening in the United States. Russia has now become the second-highest nation in terms of official infections (we still don't believe China's numbers). Russia now has more than 300,000 cases of COVID-19 within its borders. The big news today is that the United States and China still remain locked in a battle of words over the origination of the disease. A day after China pledged $2 billion to the World Health Organization, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to permanently cut off funding to the agency and withdraw U.S. membership if the group "does not commit to major substantive improvements within the next 30 days."

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Stocks to Watch Today: KSS, MRNA, LUV

• Shares of Kohl's Corp. (NYSE: KSS) added 1.2% despite news that the company had a terrible first-quarter earnings report. The firm reported a quarterly loss of $3.20 for Q1. That figure was significantly worse than the projected loss of $1.80 among Wall Street analysts. The firm said that same-store sales declined due to closures of locations. It has improved is cash position, but it remains under significant pressure due to COVID-19.
• Shares of Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ: MRNA) are in focus after the company announced positive results during a phase 1 drug trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine. Shares of the stock surged on Monday and helped propel yesterday's wider market rally. Today, the company announced it will use the recent surge to issue an additional 17.6 million shares at $76 per share. It will also allow its underwriters to purchase up to 2.64 million shares at the same price.
• Things continue to go from bad to worse for the airline industry. This morning, a new SEC filing showed that Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) operating revenue for May could slump by nearly 90% from the same period last year. June operating revenue is expected to also fall from 85% to 90% due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The firm did say that it is starting to see a small improvement in consumer demand and bookings.

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Garrett Baldwin

About the Author

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Garrett Baldwin is a globally recognized research economist, financial writer, consultant, and political risk analyst with decades of trading experience and degrees in economics, cybersecurity, and business from Johns Hopkins, Purdue, Indiana University, and Northwestern.

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