U.S. stocks waver as Target’s sales outlook weighs on sentiment

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were mixed on Wednesday after a weak outlook from Target fueled fears that inflation was going to hurt retailers this holiday season.

At 10:37 ET (15:37 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 31 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.5% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 1.3%.

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) shares fell 13% on its earnings report, in which it blamed inflation and shifting consumer spending for a drop in demand. Its early promotions for the holiday shopping season cut into profit.

U.S. retail sales rose 1.3% in October, which was more than the 1% expected after a muted September.

Investors have been clinging to any signs that inflation is cooling so the Federal Reserve can start to ease back on the size of its interest rate hikes. The market is expecting that while interest rates will rise again next month, the Fed will raise its benchmark rate by just a half of a percentage point, rather than the 0.75 percentage point it has moved rates higher in each of its last four meetings.

Shares of home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW) rose 4.7% after it raised its profit forecast for the year, a contrast to Target. 

Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 1.9% to $85.22 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude fell 1.4%, to $92.55. Gold Futures rose to around $1781.