WSJ What’s News - What’s News in Markets: Retail Divergence, Alphabet Dives, Gap Glow-Up

Episode Date: November 23, 2024

Why did investors diverge on retail rivals Target and Walmart? And how did a Justice Department proposal for Google affect Alphabet stock? Plus, what drove the Gap share glow-up? Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Everybody milk. Visit milk.org to learn more. Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, November 23rd. I'm Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them.

Let's get to it. Traders are still digesting a second Trump administration, and what that will mean for the market. Like we talked about last week, we've been seeing more questions arising around Trump's future policies that are putting some traders on edge. Like for instance, Trump's campaign promise to impose tariffs of 60% on all Chinese goods, given that tariffs are widely regarded as inflationary and this could affect the progress we've seen on bringing down inflation.

Meanwhile, some investors are also hoping that certain sectors will benefit from positive business sentiment and looser regulations when Trump returns to the White House. We also continue to see big moves from the winners and losers of earnings season, more on those stocks in a second, and their impact on the broader indexes, which have been steadily setting new records this year. And looking at those indexes, this week they all ended in the green. The Dow rose almost 2%,

and on Friday notched its 44th record close of 2024. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ each added 1.7% in the week. Speaking of earnings, winners, and losers, let's take a look at Target and rival Walmart, two retail giants that had very different quarters. Target's report really missed the bull's eye, so to speak, with flat sales and shrinking profit. The company said that price cuts helped lure more shoppers, but they still spent less in

stores and online. Then there was the annual forecast. Earlier this year, the company had shown some positivity, raising its profit estimates and saying its sales were looking up. This week, Target reversed course and cut its full-year forecast for sales and profit. And remember, this is all happening as Target heads into the crucial holiday shopping season. So the results were disappointing in and of themselves, but adding insult to injury is the contrast we saw between Target's quarter and Walmart's, which also reported this week.

Walmart said it had a great start to the holiday season, with its U.S. comparable sales beating expectations, rising 5.3% in the latest quarter. Target's comparable sales missed expectations and grew just 0.3%. So it really was the tale of two retailers and a tale of two very different stock moves. While Walmart shares gained 3% on Tuesday, the day of its earnings, and ended the week up more than 7%. Target shares dropped 21% Wednesday and notched a 17% drop for the week. And not for nothing, but this is also reminding me that I really need to start my holiday shopping. Next, the latest twist in the antitrust saga between the DOJ and Alphabet's Google weighed

on the stock this week. Back in August, the US won its case against Google, and on Wednesday, the Justice Department said that Google should break up with Chrome and be forced to sell its extremely popular browser as a remedy to its online search monopolization. The proposal also affects Google's Android mobile operating system, forbidding the company from giving preferential access to its search engine on Android devices. Both Chrome and Android have been central to Google's fortunes over the past two decades, so these would be some big blows to the company.

Google's president of global affairs said it was a quote, wildly overbroad proposal and that Google would file its own proposed remedy to the court in December. And as a result, Alphabet shares lost about 4.6% Thursday and the stock was the worst performer in the S&P that day. The stock continued moving lower on Friday and ended the week with a 4.2% loss overall. And last but not least, the Gap's new style is paying off. The apparel company raised its sales outlook for the year and posted a rise in profit and sales in the fiscal third quarter, and noted that the current quarter is off to a strong start.

It's a good sign, because Gap, whose brands also include Old Navy and Banana Republic, has been working to turn itself around after years of sluggish sales. At the center of these efforts is CEO Richard Dixon, who took charge last year and who's best known for reviving Barbie during his long tenure at Mattel. Investors seemed pretty pleased with Gap's results, and on Friday Gap shares jumped 13 percent. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column and the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section.

Today's show is produced by Ariana Asparu with supervising producer Taliar Bell. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend and I'll see you next time.