By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com -- Stocks started the week off on a down note as investors braced for a busy week of major retailer earnings, beginning with Walmart and Home Depot on Tuesday.
Retail sales data due out on Tuesday could light a fire under retail stocks as consumers head into the holiday shopping season. Rising inflation expectations pushed up Treasury yields.
Inflation fears are weighing on stocks as the Biden administration pledges to get a handle on rising costs. Gas prices hit a record in California, surging to $4.68 a gallon, but in some areas of the state, gas was selling for over $5 a gallon.
Rising gas prices are happening even though the price of crude has sold off recently, down three consecutive weeks. Some have speculated that President Joe Biden would boost supply -- and thus pressure prices lower -- by releasing some oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
This is after the cartel of major oil producing nations decided not to hike production beyond the measured approach it has already agreed to follow, adding output gradually. Rising Covid-19 cases in Europe and the U.S., with some European spots going back to at least partial lockdowns, is raising concern about oil demand.
Shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped another 4% as CEO Elon Musk continued to sell shares, something he has to do as he exercises options that were granted as part of his compensation. Tesla fell 15.4% last week after Musk telegraphed his planned sales in a poll on Twitter (NYSE:TWTR).
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. Walmart earnings
Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT)is expected to report third-quarter profit per share of $1.40 on revenue of $135.42 billion, according to analysts tracked by Investing.com.
2. Home Depot earnings
Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) is seen clocking third-quarter revenue of $34.83 billion and EPS of $3.41.
3. Retail sales
U.S. retail sales in October are seen rising 1.2% month-on-month, stronger than September’s 0.7% monthly gain. The data come out at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT).