Risk aversion drags Dow lower ahead of FOMC minutes

Dow Jones declines on Wednesday amid a more pessimistic market outlook. Intel ends plans to buy China’s Tower Semiconductor. Dow component The Home Depot spiked on consensus earnings beat on Tuesday. Cisco reports earnings after Wednesday close, Walmart reports earnings results on Thursday.

July US Retail Sales on Tuesday showed strong gains compared to June. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) edges lower on Wednesday amid a mildly pessimistic market mood as traders prepared themselves for the release of the last Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

The decline came despite major retailer Target (TGT) announcing a 27% consensus beat on the bottom line. TGT shares jumped 9% on the news.

On Tuesday, July US Retail Sales came in above expectations, once again showcasing a strong US economy in the face of a high interest rate environment. The economic indicator gained 0.7% on a monthly basis, far exceeding the 0.4% consensus forecast and leading some economists to predict a 3% annualized GDP growth rate for Q3.

That was a good leading indicator for the week since the stock market sees a number of major retailers deliver their Q2 earnings results in parallel. These include Dow Jones components The Home Depot (HD) and Walmart.