Stock Market Today: Dow Drops After Cisco, Walmart Earnings
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq managed marginal gains Thursday.


The momentum that has stocks headed for a third straight weekly win stalled out Thursday as investors took in several economic reports and a handful of corporate earnings updates.
Kicking things off was data from the Labor Department that showed initial jobless claims jumped 13,000 last week to 231,000 – a three-month high.
"Jobless claims were a welcome addition to recent data that pointed to a slight cooling in the labor market and, perhaps, the U.S. economy," says Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA. "Of course, we're talking about a very small step in the right direction, from the perspective of the Fed, and it will need to be backed by a lot more over the coming months, but it's a start."
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Also on the economic calendar was data from the Federal Reserve, which showed industrial production fell by a wider-than-expected 0.6% in October. Manufacturing output was down 0.7%.
"Much of this decline was due to a 10% drop in the output of motor vehicles and parts that was affected by strikes at several major manufacturers of motor vehicles – the index for manufacturing excluding motor vehicles and parts edged up 0.1%," stated the report.
Factory struggles are likely to continue, says Priscilla Thiagamoorthy, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, as recent Fed surveys underscore weak momentum. "Elevated borrowing costs are likely to undercut consumer demand and business investment, weighing on factory output," the economist adds.
Cisco sinks after earnings
As for today's earnings news, Cisco Systems (CSCO) plunged 9.8% after the company disclosed its fiscal first-quarter results. While the network equipment specialist beat on the top and bottom lines, it gave weaker-than-expected fiscal second-quarter guidance and lowered its full-year forecast.
"After three quarters of exceptionally strong product delivery, our customers are now focused on installing and implementing these unprecedented levels of products," said Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, in the company's earnings call. "Simply put, customers are now taking time to onboard and deploy these heightened product deliveries," which is creating a slowdown in new orders.
Walmart stock sheds $37 billion in market value
Walmart (WMT) was another Dow Jones stock that plummeted after earnings. The discount retailer's third-quarter results were more than analysts were expecting, while customer transactions and the average ticket were both higher on a year-over-year basis. WMT also said global e-commerce sales surged 15%.
Nevertheless, Walmart stock fell 8.1% – erasing $37 billion in market value – following a cautious forecast. Specifically, Walmart is anticipating full-year earnings per share of $6.40 to $6.48 vs analysts' estimate for earnings of $6.48 per share. The company is also expecting revenue to grow between 5% to 5.5%, while analysts anticipate 5.1% top-line growth.
Weakness in these two blue chip stocks had the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagging its peers, with the 30-stock average closing down 0.1% at 34,945. The S&P 500 (+0.1% to 4,508) and the Nasdaq Composite (+0.07% at 14,113) finished the day with marginal gains.
Related content
- When Is the Next CPI Report?
- Kiplinger's Earnings Calendar for This Week (Nov. 13-17)
- Need Your Lawn Mowed? Uber May Soon Offer Help With That
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Stocks Retreat as Shutdown Continues: Stock Market Today
While the main indexes closed lower today, Delta and PepsiCo gained ground on encouraging earnings reports.
-
S&P 500 Hits New Highs as Rally Resumes: Stock Market Today
Tech stocks were the biggest gainers on Wall Street today, with Nvidia and Dell making notable moves.
-
Rally Fades on Mixed AI Revolution News: Stock Market Today
All three main U.S. equity indexes opened higher but closed lower as a seven-session winning streak for the S&P 500 came to an end.
-
S&P, Nasdaq Hit New Highs: Stock Market Today
A late-day rally wasn't enough to lift the Dow into the green as its six-session winning streak came to an end.
-
Dow Adds 238 Points as UNH, CAT Pop: Stock Market Today
The lack of a September jobs report didn't seem to worry market participants, with the data delayed due to the ongoing government shutdown.
-
Stocks at New Highs as Shutdown Drags On: Stock Market Today
The Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all notched new record closes Thursday as tech stocks gained.
-
S&P 500 Sees New Highs on Shutdown Day: Stock Market Today
Most of its components were in the red, but the S&P 500 Index still managed to hit a new intraday all-time high.
-
Stocks Close September on a High Note: Stock Market Today
A little bit of late risk-on behavior was enough to lift stocks into the green on the last day of September.