A ton happened in the market this week. Investors are fearful, so little things are spooking people into panic. If you don’t get swept up in emotions, this is a prime time to scoop up deals and profit.
Walmart Reported Earnings
Walmart’s earnings outlook for 2026 caused the market to tank hard. WMT forecast sales to be 3%-4% for 2026, due to the uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment.
This is just a fancy way of saying consumer behavior (spending less) and geopolitical issues (war, inflation, tariffs etc) are making WMT issued conservative guidance for 2026.
Housing Data
Home sales fell 5% in January, which, you know, is yuck. So the housing report showed the highest prices ever for homes in January, and a high supply on the market. Buyers aren’t buying with high interest rates.
The theory that the supply was the problem is false, for now. Methinks, I’m starting to see a consumer trend. THEY don’t want to spend money. Not a good thing for a consumer driven economy.
Consumer Sentiment Data
The latest consumer sentiment report came out and basically proved me right. Consumer sentiment dropped 10% in January. And now, the consumer feels that inflation will go up, leaving them less money than before.
Consumers, on average, feel their short term economic outlook and inflation as a whole is going to get worse. Worse still, the long term outlook dropped over 6% as well. The market did not like this news and literally tanked minutes after this report came out.
Nvidia Reported Earnings
Nvidia had a really good earnings report this week, but not perfect like so many were relying on. As we mentioned in this video, the market will take its cues from NVDA’s earnings and investors reactions.
Well, the markets tanked because investor sentiment was poor about NVDA earnings. This is not a good thing when 1 or 2 stocks can basically determine the direction of the market based on company news. But, that is the environment we’re in right now.
As the MAG 7 goes, so does the market. Keep this in mind. What the last two weeks of sell offs have done is present numerous investments as buy opportunities. So shop away.
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