LIVE MARKETS-US stocks lower as growth stocks weigh

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U.S. STOCKS LOWER AS GROWTH STOCKS WEIGH

Wall Street's main indexes are lower early on Wednesday as investors assess uneven earnings from retailers such as Target and Lowe's for clues on consumer spending ahead of a Federal Reserve symposium later this week.

Earnings from big retailers, seen as a barometer for the health of the American consumer, are in the spotlight as sentiment has taken a hit from concerns that tariffs could drive prices higher.

Of note, Target TGT.N is plunging about 8% after the company named a new CEO and retained its annual forecasts that were lowered in May due to weak demand for the discretionary merchandise it sells.

In contrast, home improvement retailer Lowe's LOW.N is up slightly after raising its annual sales forecast and on plans to buy Foundation Building Materials for nearly $8.8 billion.

The broad SPDR S&P retail ETF XRT.P is lower by around 0.7%.

Despite the early index weakness, and the VIX .VIX percolating up to a nine-day high, a majority of S&P 500 index .SPX sectors are actually higher with Staples .SPLRCS, up more than 1%, posting the biggest gain. Tech .SPLRCT, down nearly 2%, is the weakest group.

As was the case on Tuesday, the Mag 7 MAGS.K, FANGs .NYFANG and chips .SOX are under heavy pressure.

With this, value .IVX is outperforming growth .IGX.

Of note, the Dow .DJI, which is now around 44,875, is down just 0.30% from its December 4, 2024 record close at 45,014.04.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood around 10:15 a.m. EDT:

(Terence Gabriel)

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(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)