*

US-listed shares of Alibaba gain after Q3 revenue beat

*

Baxter International ( BAX ) jumps on consensus-beating estimates

*

Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) drops on potential Pentagon budget

cuts

(Updates to market close)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks sold off on

Thursday as ongoing tariff jitters and a downbeat forecast from

Walmart ( WMT ) dampened investor risk appetite.

A broad selloff pulled all three major U.S. stock indexes

into negative territory, with the blue-chip Dow suffering the

steepest loss. The S&P 500 snapped its two-day string of

all-time closing highs.

Gold prices surged to a record high, suggesting a flight to

safety amid mounting uncertainties.

Walmart ( WMT ), the world's largest retailer, provided

current fiscal year sales and profit forecasts that fell shy of

analysts' expectations, which suggested dampening consumer

demand.

"With the consumer driving 70% of the U.S. economy

(Walmart's ( WMT )) weak guidance gave rise to some nervousness,

regarding the health of the consumer and potential consumer

spending going forward," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio

manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.

"That led to maybe some selling pressure in shares of

Walmart ( WMT ), which spread throughout the overall market," Pavlik

added.

Walmart's ( WMT ) shares ended sharply lower.

Walmart's ( WMT ) results also provided a glimpse into how the

company expects to fare under U.S. President Donald Trump's

growing list of tariff announcements.

On Wednesday, that list was expanded to include lumber,

autos, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

"You can't talk about uncertainty if you don't mention

tariffs, right? That's been a very volatile headline," said Mike

Dickson, head of research at Horizon Investments in Charlotte,

North Carolina.

"Is Trump using this as a bargaining tool? Is he serious

about it? Who's going to be impacted? You've seen a lot of

that."

Recent economic data, including jobless claims and Atlantic

region factory activity, suggested that the U.S. economy is in

solid shape for now, in line with recent comments by Federal

Reserve policymakers.

But some economists fear labor market disruptions are

possible as a result of the thousands of federal employees

recently fired by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of

Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The S&P 500 lost 26.52 points, or 0.43%, to end at

6,117.63 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 94.22

points, or 0.47%, to 19,962.03. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 450.69 points, or 1.00%, to 44,180.80.

Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ), which provides governments

with services such as software that visualizes army positions,

declined after the Pentagon announcement on Wednesday that it

was looking at potential budget cuts for the fiscal year 2026.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba Group advanced

following the Chinese e-commerce firm's consensus-beating

third-quarter revenue.

Hasbro ( HAS ) jumped after the toymaker beat quarterly

profit and revenue estimates.

Medical device maker Baxter International ( BAX ) jumped

after the company provided a better-than-expected 2025 profit

forecast.