Walmart (WMT.US) executive: Second-quarter comparable sales at U.S. physical stores declined by a low single digit.

Spot silver has just broken through the $67.00/ounce mark, now quoted at $67.02/ounce, up 0.06% on the day; the main COMEX silver futures contract is currently quoted at $67.06/ounce, up 1.88% on the day.

U.S. stocks opened lower, with the Dow Jones down 0.6%, the S&P 500 down 0.3%, and the Nasdaq down 0.5%. Micron Technology (MU.US) rose 0.4% after the company increased investment in U.S. memory research and development, planning to invest $10 billion over ten years. Walmart (WMT.US) fell 7% as Q2 same-store sales growth hit a six-year low and full-year earnings guidance missed expectations. SK hynix (SKHY.US) rose 4% after reaching a preliminary wage agreement. Alibaba (BABA.US) fell 4.7% afte

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened down 0.15%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.45%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.23%. Leading tech stocks saw declines: Tesla fell 1.4%, Amazon dropped 1.01%, and Intel was down 1%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index slipped 1.09%, with NetEase falling 5.23% and Alibaba down 4.21%.

Spot gold has just broken through the $4,470.00/oz level, now quoted at $4,469.93/oz, down 1.17% on the day; COMEX gold futures main contract is now quoted at $4,525.00/oz, down 0.45% on the day.