U.S. Stocks Under Pressure as Walmart's Outlook Weighed On Market Sentiment

Barry Adams
19 Feb, 2026
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street struggled to extend gains of the previous session, and a weaker-than-expected outlook from Walmart weighed on market sentiment. 

The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 0.4% amid rising tensions in the Middle East. 

Crude oil prices jumped 2% to $66.40 a barrel, and gold advanced 0.2% to $4,986.30 an ounce as the U.S. signaled its readiness to strike targets deep into Iran.

U.S. initial weekly jobless claims edged lower from the previous week for the second week of February, signaling the stable job market amid a low-hire and low-fire environment. 

The seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending on February 14 decreased by 23,000 to 206,000, and continuing claims increased by 17,000 to 1.87 million. 

The previous week's jobless claims were revised up by 2,000 to 229,000, and the continuing claims were revised down by 10,000 to 1,862,000. 

 

U.S. Movers 

DoorDash Inc. jumped 12% to $194.21 after the food delivery service reported a 32% increase in total orders and a 38% rise in revenue in the fourth quarter. 

Etsy Inc. soared 21% to $53.29 after the e-commerce platform operator agreed to sell Depop, a consumer-to-consumer fashion marketplace for vintage and second-hand clothing, to eBay for $1.2 billion in cash subject to certain milestones and conditions. 

Ebay jumped 7.6% to $88.42 following the Depop deal announcement. 

Walmart Inc. declined 2.9% to $122.95 despite the company reporting higher-than-expected revenue and earnings in the holiday quarter. 

Walmart said fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 6%, driven by a rise in e-commerce sales, third-party marketplace fees, and advertising revenue.