Shares of retailers and other consumer companies fell amid inflation concerns.
Walmart shares rose after the retail giant said sales from U.S. stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 months rose 6% in the first quarter, even as digital sales growth slowed.
Shares of Home Depot ticked down despite the home-improvement retailer posting first-quarter sales growth that blew past Wall Street targets, amid concerns about the rising price of lumber and other Home Depot goods. One strategist said consumers are facing very different price dynamics than those encountered by Americans in the 1970s, when the auto industry was the cornerstone of the U.S. economy. "The tagline on autos was 'sticker prices go up every year,'" said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at money manager The Leuthold Group.
"That was the leading industry ... it was a huge inflationary force and every industry followed. The leading industry today is tech, and the tagline on that is 'sticker prices go down on that every year.'" Even the apparent spike in housing prices is misleading as the historic decline in mortgage rates mean the increases are not reflected in homeowners' monthly payments, said Mr. Paulsen.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-18-21 1719ET
