Dow plunges 600 points as surging Treasury yields, Walmart sales shock Wall Street

U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with the Dow dropping 605.14 points, or 1.1%, to 52,857.91 as Treasury yields rose and weighed on risk appetite. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite slid more than 1%. A key drag came from Walmart, whose shares sank 9% after the company missed Wall Street expectations for quarterly comparable sales, with higher gasoline prices prompting consumers to rein in spending. Walmart’s report also pushed down broader indexes, including the S&P 500 consumer staples index (-1.5%) and consumer discretionary (-1.9%), while rivals Albertsons and Costco also declined. Analysts pointed to crude oil trading above $87 and renewed yield pressure. Markets had earlier gained on Wednesday after the Treasury said it would buy back more bonds, but stocks slipped again as yields resumed rising.