US Market falls on disappointing Target results

The US stock market finished session lower on Wednesday, 16 November 2022, as investors weighed Target's weaker than expected third-quarter earnings results against solid retail sales data.

The strong retail sales growth in October reinforces expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates once again in December by at least 50 basis points.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index was down 39.09 points, or 0.12%, to 33,553.83. The S&P500 index fell 32.94 points, or 0.83%, to 3,958.79. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 174.75 points, or 1.54%, to 11,183.66.

Total 9 of 11 sectors of S&P500 index traded lower, with energy (down 2.2%), consumer discretionary (down 1.5%), and information technology (down 1.5%) sectors being notable losers.

Shares of retailers declined, with Target leading retreat, down 13%, after the retail giant reported disappointed third quarter earnings and slashing its operating margin forecast for the current quarter. The Company said its profit fell by around 50% in its fiscal third quarter and cut its fourth-quarter outlook, after seeing sales slow in late October. Other retail names such as Macy's, Gap and Nordstrom followed Target lower.

Shares of Carnival Cruise lines shed after the cruise operator announced it would offer $1 billion in convertible debt as part of its 2024 refinancing plan.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales surged by 1.3% in October after coming in unchanged in September. Excluding a sharp increase in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales still shot up by 1.3% in October after inching up by 0.1% in September.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released a separate report unexpectedly showing industrial production edged down by 0.1% in October following a revised 0.1% uptick in September.

The National Association of Home Builders also released a report showing the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index declined for the 11th consecutive month, slumping to 33 in November after tumbling to 38 in October.

Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS was down 0.4% at $19.69, HDFC Bank fell 1.5% to $68.37, ICICI Bank fell 1.3% to $22.76, WNS Holdings shed 1.1% to $82.74, Tata Motors fell 4.4% to $25.85, Azure Power Global shed 3.5% to $5.83, and Wipro was down 0.2% to $4.98. Dr Reddy's Labs grew 0.04% to $55.05.

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