Stocks waver as retail earnings loom

U.S. stocks were mixed Monday as Wall Street hinges on another round of earnings from the retail sector.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) inched lower by 0.02% during midday trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) ticked higher by 0.2%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) declined by as much as 0.4%.

Stocks on Friday ended the week with their biggest gains in months, with lighter inflation data sparking hopes among investors that a monetary policy shift is near. The S&P 500 rose nearly 6%, while the Nasdaq added around 8% for the week.

Treasury yields advanced, and the dollar held firm following weekend comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, who said the central bank still has “a ways to go.”

“This isn’t ending in the next meeting or two,” he said.

The comments echoed hawkish remarks this month from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and reinforcement from other colleagues who also reaffirmed that interest-rate increases were far from over.

Some individual stocks that were trending on Yahoo Finance on Monday:

• Tyson Foods (TSN): The beef and poultry producer reported quarterly earnings that missed expectations, while sales rose above forecasts as the high inflationary environment weigh on margins.

• Oatly Group AB (OTLY): The Swedish maker of oat-based dairy products posted a wider-than-expected third-quarter loss and revenue that fell short of estimates.

• AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC): AMC Chief Executive Adam Aron said on Thursday to Yahoo Finance Live that the company will still accept cryptocurrencies, despite the collapse of FTX. The stock has fallen over 72% this year.

• GameStop Corp.’s (GME): Fellow meme stock GameStop said that it is winding down its partnership with FTX. The retailer announced on Friday it would be providing full refunds to impacted customers. The stock is up 2% on Monday.

• SNDL Inc. (SNDL): The liquor and cannabis retailer posted a loss in the third quarter, compared with profit in the year-ago quarter.

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Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), and The Home Depot (HD) are set to unveil third-quarter financials this week.

Data from FactSet Research shows as of Friday, 91% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported third quarter earnings, with 69% reporting actual earnings per share above the mean estimate — below the five-year average of 77% that beat.

Also on Wall Street’s plate is another round of economic data, including the monthly retail sales report out on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a headline 1% increase for October after spending was unexpectedly flat in September as consumers pulled back on big-ticket items amid high inflation and climbing interest rates.

Wall Street strategists have also begun releasing their outlooks for 2023, with Morgan Stanley chief US equity strategist Mike Wilson seeing more rough patches ahead.

“While his year end 2023 base case price target of 3,900 is roughly in-line with where the market is currently trading, it won’t be a smooth ride,” strategists led by Wilson wrote in the bank’s “2023 US Equities Outlook: The Road Not Taken” note. “After what’s left of this current tactical rally, [Wilson] sees the S&P 500 discounting the ’23 earnings risk sometime in Q123 via a ~3,000-3,300 price trough.”

Elsewhere, President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday as the U.S. attempts a stronger alliance with nations that can help discourage China from taking military action against Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the world of cryptocurrencies continued to see a fast-moving sequence of events. The collapse of FTX International has threatened losses for both big and small investors, with FTX filing for bankruptcy on Friday in a stunning fall for a crypto empire. The fallout continued over the weekend. FTX probed a potential hack and asked customers to stay off the website, while crypto exchange Crypto.com sent to $405 million to the wrong recipient. Bitcoin edged higher Monday following a brutal week amid FTX’s deepening woes.

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Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv

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