Dow Drops on Tariff Threats

Stocks dropped Thursday, a day after the S&P 500 hit a fresh all-time high, after retail giant Walmart issued a lackluster forecast. Investors also appeared to dump some favorites as they weigh the outlook of the economy.The Dow Jones Industrials fainted 653.09 points, or 1.5%, Thursday to 43,974.50The much-broader index dumped 54.79 points to 6,089.76The tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped 184.55 points to 19,871.70. Dow member Walmart dropped more than 6% after the company said it expects fiscal year sales to grow between 3% and 4%. The company’s fiscal 2026 earnings outlook, meanwhile, was below analyst expectations. The weak guidance overshadowed fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that topped estimates.Target and Costco traded more than 1% lower, following Walmart’s move, which seemingly sparked a risk off session for stocks tied to worry about earnings moving forward.Retail investor favorite Palantir also pulled back more than 12%, adding to a 17% decline so far this week. The move comes after a report said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told department officials to brace for budget cuts. A new trading plan for CEO Alex Karp also drove the stock lower.Worries over the state of the economy also weighed on the market after The Conference Board said its Leading Economic Index unexpectedly contracted in JanuaryU.S. data showed weekly jobless claims for the week ended February 15 stood at 219,000, compared with an estimate of 215,000Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 4.50% from Wednesday’s 4.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Oil prices progressed 58 cents to $72.83 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold moved higher $22.20 an ounce to $2,958.30 U.S.