NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are slipping following escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war, as investors herd into gold, Treasury bonds and other investments traditionally seen as safer during times of trouble. The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower in early trading Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 318 points, or 0.7%, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower. The losses were more severe in European markets, which sank after Russia said Ukraine fired six U.S.-made missiles at it. The caution overshadowed better-than-expected reports by big U.S. retailers. Walmart climbed after topping forecasts for both profit and revenue.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Wall Street was poised to open with losses early Tuesday as more prominent U.S. retailers report their latest financial results.
Futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.3% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.5%. The declines come as tensions flare between Ukraine and Russia with the war reaching 1,000 days.
Walmart jumped 3.6% in premarket after it beat Wall Street's sales and profit targets and raised its outlook for the year. Walmart is among the first major U.S. retailers to report quarterly results and provides a peek into how Americans are feeling as they head into the holiday shopping season.
Home improvement chain Lowe's also beat analyst estimates and raised guidance but its shares were down 1.4% before the bell.
Super Micro Computer soared 26% after the server company announced it had hired BDO to be its independent auditor and submitted a compliance plan to the Nasdaq Stock Market to remain listed. Super Micro had lost more than half its value since its previous accounting firm, Ernst & Young, resigned on Oct. 30, saying it could “no longer be able to rely” on representations from the company’s management and audit committee.
Other big companies set to report this week include chipmaker Nvidia and Target on Wednesday and Deere on Thursday.
Nvidia, with a total market value of nearly $3.5 trillion, will need to hit analysts’ high expectations for growth during the latest quarter to justify its big stock price, which has surged 183% this year.
In Europe at midday, Germany's DAX lost 1.3%, while the CAC 40 in Paris sank 1.5%. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.5%.
In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 38,414.43 and the Kospi in Seoul picked up 0.1% to 2,471.95.
Chinese shares rebounded from early losses. They have wavered under concern over potential tariff hikes on by President-elect Donald Trump’s future administration and worries that recently announced stimulus policies won't have enough impact to break the economy out of the doldrums.
The Shanghai Composite index rose 0.7% to 3,346.01, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped and then recovered, adding 0.4% to 19,663.67.
India's Sensex jumped gained 0.3%, while the Taiex in Taiwan surged 1.3%. In Bangkok, the SET gained 0.7%.
In other dealings early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude oil shed 26 cents to $68.91 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude, the international standard, declined 19 cents to $73.11 per barrel.
The dollar fell to 154.16 Japanese yen from 154.67 yen. The euro slipped to $1.0570 from $1.0599.
Elaine Kurtenbach And Matt Ott, The Associated Press
