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U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba gain after Q3 revenue beat

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Baxter International ( BAX ) jumps after guiding FY profit above

estimates

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Indexes down: Dow 0.49%, S&P 500 0.31%, Nasdaq 0.16%

(Updates for market open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes opened

lower on Thursday as investors avoided risky bets after another

bout of tariff threats from President Donald Trump, while

heavyweight retailer Walmart ( WMT ) plunged on a downbeat fiscal 2026

sales forecast.

Walmart ( WMT ) slid 6.2% after the world's largest retailer

forecast sales for the fiscal year ending January 2026 below

estimates, as it anticipates inflation-weary consumers to pull

back after several quarters of solid growth.

"Walmart ( WMT ) set a negative tone for expectations ... that's

adding to concerns that the improvement in fourth quarter

earnings were the result of weaker expectations for the first

quarter of 2025," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist

at CFRA.

The company's forecast dragged down other major retailers

such as Target ( TGT ), Costco Wholesale ( COST ) and Dollar

Tree ( DLTR ), which fell between 1.2% and 1.8%.

Apart from Walmart ( WMT ), the market is reacting to Trump's

Wednesday announcement of fresh tariffs over the next month or

sooner, adding lumber and forest products to previously

announced plans involving duties on imported cars,

semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

Since returning to office four weeks ago, Trump has imposed

an additional 10% tariff on all imports from China. He also

announced, and then delayed for a month 25% tariffs on goods

from Mexico and non-energy imports from Canada.

Last week, he unveiled plans to slap reciprocal tariffs on

all countries that have tariffs on U.S. goods.

Separately, minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's January

policy meeting showed on Wednesday that Trump's initial policy

proposals raised inflationary concerns at the central bank.

The S&P 500 crawled to a record closing high for the

second time this week on Wednesday, as markets took stock of the

Fed's meeting minutes and Trump's directives.

On Thursday, data showed that the number of Americans filing

new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately

last week, suggesting that the labor market remained on solid

ground.

At 09:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 226.16 points, or 0.49%, to 44,408.56, the S&P 500

lost 18.99 points, or 0.31%, to 6,125.16 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 38.43 points, or 0.16%, to 20,017.82.

Nine of the S&P 500's 11 sectors traded lower, with consumer

staples leading declines with a 1.8% fall.

Megacaps Tesla and Amazon ( AMZN ) were down over

0.7% each.

Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ), which provides governments

with services such as software that visualizes army positions,

fell 7.8% after the Pentagon said on Wednesday it was looking at

potential budget cuts for the fiscal year 2026.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba Group advanced 13.4%

after the Chinese e-commerce firm topped expectations for

third-quarter revenue.

Hasbro ( HAS ) advanced 9.7% after the toymaker beat

quarterly profit and revenue estimates, while Baxter

International ( BAX ) gained 6.7% after the medical device maker

forecast 2025 profit above estimates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.23-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, and by a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs, and one new low,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 new highs and 51 new

lows.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru;

Editing by Maju Samuel and Shinjini Ganguli)