S&P Falls for First Time in Four Sessions

Stocks fell Thursday, putting the S&P 500 three-day winning streak at risk. The benchmark has been on a tear this week after the Trump administration and China hammered out a temporary suspension of their tit-for-tat tariff dispute.The Dow Jones Industrials faltered 168.41 points to open Thursday’s session at 41,882.65, weighed down by losses in Walmart and UnitedHealth.Shares of Walmart dipped 4% after the company said it could raise prices in response to still-high tariffs from the Trump administration. Walmart reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue that matched Wall Street estimates.The much-broader index dropped 24.75 points to 5,867.83The NASDAQ Composite crumbled 160.58 points to 18,096.23Tech giants are putting up a strong showing week to date: Nvidia and Tesla are both up more than 14%, and Meta Platforms has added 10% in the period. Amazon has increased 6% and Alphabet is up more than 8%. The NASDAQ Composite is higher by 5.9% this week, trailed by the S&P 500, ahead 3.8%, and the Dow, up 1.5%.Shares of Foot Locker surged 83% after the company announced that it would merge with Dick’s Sporting Goods for $2.4 billion. UnitedHealth slid 14% after The Wall Street Journal reported the Justice Department is probing the insurer. A UnitedHealth spokesman later told reporters the insurer has not been notified by the DOJ of the “supposed” investigation reported.Traders also assessed the state of the economy on Thursday, with an unexpected decline in wholesale prices last month. The producer price index for April declined 0.5% month-over-month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast PPI would increase 0.3% on the month. Retail sales increased 0.1% in April, which matched consensus estimates, while industrial production numbers for April decreased slightly more than expected.Prices for the 10-year Treasury climbed, lowering yields to 4.49% from Wednesday’s 4.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices capsized $1.45 to $61.70 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold regained $9.50 to $3,197.80