Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Point to Lower Open As Geopolitical Concerns Rise; Walmart Jumps After Earnings

Stock futures are lower Tuesday as investors digest earnings reports from major retailers and await Nvidia’s (NVDA) results tomorrow, while geopolitical tensions also weigh on sentiment.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.5%, while those linked to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were off 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished higher on Monday as the market recovered some of the losses posted last week, when U.S. stocks had their worst week in two months as a post-election rally faded.

Market participants were keeping a close eye on reports that Ukraine had fired U.S.-made missiles into Russia, as well as news that Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a revised nuclear doctrine that lowers the threshold for using nuclear weapons.

Among stocks on the move in premarket trading Tuesday, Walmart (WMT) shares were up nearly 4% after the world’s largest retailer reported quarterly results that topped analysts’ expectations and raised its outlooks for sales and earnings. Shares of Lowe’s (LOW) slipped about 1% after the home improvement retailer reported better-than-expected results but cited “continued softness” in big-ticket discretionary spending.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) was the biggest gainer this morning, rising 30% after the beleaguered server maker and Nvidia partner named a new auditor and filed a compliance plan to avoid delisting by the Nasdaq.

Nvidia shares were up 1.5%, making the AI investor favorite the only member of the ‘Magnificent 7’ group of mega-cap technology stocks in positive territory ahead of the bell Tuesday.  Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN),  Meta Platforms (META) and Tesla (TSLA) were all losing ground.

Gold futures were up about 1% to $2,640 an ounce amid the increased geopolitical concerns, while crude oil futures fell slightly. Bitcoin was trading around $92,500, up about $2,000 from its overnight low and not far from its record high.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys, which has risen in recent weeks as investors have scaled back their expectations about how aggressive the Federal Reserve will be in cutting rates in the months ahead, was down to 4.37% from 4.41% on Monday.