Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving markets right now.
Walmart shares are under pressure after the retail giant posted its weakest comparable U.S. sales growth in more than six years, coming in at just two point six percent for the second quarter. The culprit is falling drug prices, which dragged on pharmacy revenues and weighed heavily on the top line. Investors had grown accustomed to stronger numbers from Walmart, and this miss is a reminder that even defensive consumer names carry margin risk when pricing headwinds hit a high-volume category.
Shifting to fixed income, JPMorgan strategists are sounding the alarm on the Treasury's bond buyback program, arguing it could paradoxically push yields higher rather than lower. Jay Barry and Jason Hunter say the initiative isn't even necessary in the current environment, and that the market distortion it creates could backfire on investors already navigating a complicated rate landscape. Their advice is to position accordingly on the long end.
And in commodities, oil is jumping after President Trump declared what amounts to economic war on Iran, posting on Truth Social that any nation supporting Tehran's economy would face severe consequences. That kind of secondary sanctions language rattles supply expectations almost immediately, and traders are pricing in the geopolitical risk premium with crude moving sharply higher on the session.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
