People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in New York. Wall Street is making only modest moves following a hotly anticipated report on inflation Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 as investors try to square what it will mean for the economy and interest rates.AP
Both retail giants, also listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, were lower after offering lackluster forecasts for the coming year.
Walmart alluded to consumer inflation as a drag while it forecast much slower revenue growth, while Home Depot expects flat sales in its fiscal year of 2023.
Analysts are also watching Treasury bond yields, seen as a proxy for US interest rate policies, which remain upward-bound as investors prepare for more Federal Reserve rate hikes.
About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.1 percent at 33,445.55.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.0 percent to 4,037.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent to 11,655.68.
Tuesday marks the resumption of trading after markets were closed on Monday in observance of Presidents' Day.
This week's calendar includes Fed meeting minutes and closely-watched personal income and spending data for January.
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