Stocks Closed Lower as Wal-Mart Cut Outlook

U.S. stocks finished lower on Wednesday as Wal-Mart cut its growth outlook and as a key report from the Federal Reserve offered a muted look at growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 157.14 points, or 0.92%, to 16,924.75. The S&P 500 shed 9.45 points, or 0.47%, to 1,994.24. The Nasdaq Composite fell 13.76 points, or 0.29%, to 4,782.85.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc warned on Wednesday that higher wages as well as spending on e-commerce and lower prices would cut earnings per share down as much as 12 percent next fiscal year. The company forecast earnings per share would grow 5-10 percent in the fiscal year ending in January 2019.

The economy grew modestly the past six weeks, with consumer spending and the housing market accelerating while a strong dollar and low oil prices continued to hamper manufacturers, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Nike Inc said it expects annual revenue to grow 63 percent to $50 billion by 2020, with sales in its women’s category set to double during the period.

Sales at U.S. retailers barely rose in September after no change in August, suggesting that consumers cut back on spending toward the end of summer. Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in September, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Netflix Inc. reported disappointing subscriber growth in the U.S. and saw its profit fall amid higher costs for content and expansion. Overall, the video company added 3.62 million streaming subscribers in the September quarter, better than the 3.55 million that Netflix projected in July.