US open: Stocks mixed following solid earnings from big-box retailers
Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Tuesday following some solid earnings from Walmart, Home Depot and Macy's.
As of 1545 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.21% at 34,254.61, while the S&P 500 was 0.03% firmer at 4,164.61 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.74% stronger at 13,478.25.
The Dow opened 73.18 points lower on Tuesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.
Home Depot shares were down in early trading despite posting a quarterly earning per share of $3.83, significantly better than the $3.08 per share predicted by analysts on the Street, driven by a 32.7% increase in net sales throughout the period, while Macy's stock eked higher after revealing blowout quarterly earnings and raising its full-year guidance.
Walmart shares were more than 2% higher after revealing that Covid-19 stimulus checks had driven it to its strongest ever first-quarter performance.
On the macro front, US homebuilders broke ground on far fewer new homes than expected last month, according to the Department of Commerce, with housing starts falling at a month-on-month clip of 9.5% to reach an annualised pace of 1.56m (consensus: 1.70m).
Permits on the other hand, a lead indicator for starts, did edge up by 0.3% on the month to reach 1.76m (consensus: 1.77m).