What to watch today: Stock futures fall as inflation claims another retailer

What to watch today: Stock futures fall as inflation claims another retailer

BY THE NUMBERS dropped Wednesday as rising inflation slammed another retailer. (TGT) sank more than 20% in the premarket, shortly after a big earnings miss. A similar profit picture at (WMT) was revealed Tuesday. The Dow stock closed down nearly 11.4% in its worst single-session decline since 1987. Walmart shares lost another 1.5% in Wednesday's premarket. One of the drivers behind spiking inflation is energy costs. jumped 2.5% on Wednesday, once again. (CNBC) Despite Walmart's troubles, the on Tuesday rose 431 points or 1.3%. The and the gained 2% and nearly 2.8%, respectively, in Wall Street's following weeks of steep losses. The Nasdaq was still in a bear market as defined by a drop of 20% or more from its prior high. The Dow and S&P 500 were still in corrections, defined by a decline of 10% or more from prior highs. (CNBC) The government's report, out at 8:30 a.m. ET, is projected to show a decline in building activity. Economists expect a 2.4% decline to an annual rate of 1.75 million units. Housing starts had edged higher by 0.3% in March. Building permits in April are seen dropping 2.8% to 1.82 million. Permits rose 0.4% in March. (CNBC) *