Dow falls 600 points as inflation and tariff fears hit Main Street

New York (CNN) —US stocks fell Thursday after the world’s largest retailer warned that 2025 would be a rollercoaster ride and said it expected sales to slow this year amid fears that consumers are tapped out.The sour forecast from Walmart (WMT) dragged down the Dow by more than 600 points, or 1.5%, and Walmart stock dropped 7%. Stocks fell on investors’ fears that consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the economy, would slow as shoppers pull back in the face of even higher prices. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were both 0.9% lower.Walmart acknowledged “uncertainties related to consumer behavior and global economic and geopolitical conditions,” Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said Thursday.Higher inflation and years of elevated interest rates continue to weigh on American shoppers, a picture that becomes more complicated if President Donald Trump enacts the slew of tariffs he has promised.In the first month of his new presidential term, Trump introduced a 10% across-board-tariff on goods coming from China and a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. He has also pledged to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada starting in March and directed his economic team to study “reciprocal tariffs” on all trading...