Wall Street Week Ahead: Walmart to shed light on consumer health as inflation bites, tariffs swirl
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Walmart's quarterly report in the coming week will give investors fresh insight into the health of U.S. consumers, who are facing stronger inflation and uncertainty over whether President Donald Trump's tariffs will push up prices. The benchmark S&P 500 stock index was up about 1% for the week, with stocks showing resilience despite a hot report on consumer prices that led investors to push back expectations of further interest rate cuts this year. Wall Street closely watches trends in consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. The extent to which inflation is weighing on shopping behavior could become more evident with Thursday's earnings report from retailer Walmart. "Walmart is sort of a canary in the coal mine as far as consumer spending and consumer health is concerned," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. Walmart's report could show...