Top News Today: Stocks Slide on Weak Walmart Sales, Yield Rebound

MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: Stocks slid as oil prices and Treasury yields continued their rise.

TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose, recouping most of the losses associated with Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent's buyback plan.

FOREX: The U.S. dollar rose slightly against rivals amid risk aversion.

COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose as the Strait of Hormuz remained largely shut and President Trump threatened more economic pressure on Iran.

HEADLINES

The rise in interest rates hit a 'raw nerve' at the White House.

Bessent's plan has analysts on edge.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday doubled down on his

department's intervention in the bond market, saying the Treasury could

make additional moves and that its buybacks may be bigger than what was

announced a day earlier.

Bessent also announced a new focus by the Trump administration on

addressing the national debt, which has just topped $40 trillion.

The Treasury secretary was asked in a CNBC interview how much more

he's willing to do following his department's announcement on Wednesday

that it would at least double the size of its buybacks of longer-dated

Treasury bonds

Trump Threatens Iran With 'Economic D-Day'

WASHINGTON-President Trump vowed to unleash what he called "ECONOMIC

D-DAY" on Iran as frustrations mount over lack of progress on reopening

the Strait of Hormuz or reaching a deal to end the nearly six-month war.

Trump said on Wednesday evening he would launch a major economic

campaign against Iran and any entity that does business with the regime.

The president said it would be "the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER

TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!" Trump didn't say what specifically the U.S.

will do in addition to the heavy sanctions that are already on Tehran.

"I am also announcing that ANY country that allows its financial

institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any

type of lifeline to Iran will itself face TREMENDOUS Economic

Consequences," Trump posted on Truth Social. "Oil smuggling, swap lines,

cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies-It all

needs to stop NOW. You know who you are." The president called on U.S.

allies to support his effort to isolate Iran.

Walmart Shares Slump on Weakest Sales Growth in Over Six Years

Walmart reported its smallest sales gain in more than six years as

some Americans continue to spend cautiously-especially when shopping at

the retailer's physical stores.

On Thursday, Walmart said U.S. comparable sales, those from store and

digital channels operating for the past 12 months, rose 2.6%. That is the

smallest quarterly increase the retailer has reported since 2020. The

number was hurt by new pharmacy-pricing regulations, without which

Walmart would have had a 3.4% lift, the company said. That is below

analysts' estimates of a 3.8% gain, according to FactSet.

Walmart's stock fell 9% to $104 in morning trading Thursday, the worst

performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Canada Trade Official Says Tariff Deal With U.S. 'Very Close'

OTTAWA-Canada's minister in charge of U.S. trade said Ottawa and

Washington are "very close" to finalizing an agreement.

Dominic LeBlanc made the remarks to Canadian reporters Thursday in

Washington, following a roughly three-hour meeting with senior trade

officials in the Trump administration.

"We continue to make progress, and we're going to stay here and do the

work that's necessary until we get to that point," LeBlanc said in a

brief statement.

SpaceX Is Racking Up Wins in Washington

SpaceX has had a bumpy ride on Wall Street, but in Washington, Elon

Musk's space-and-artificial intelligence company has been racking up big

wins.

This year SpaceX has secured billions of dollars' worth of government

business to build and launch military satellites, even after lawmakers

made an extra push to give other contractors a shot. The Trump

administration is allowing SpaceX to sidestep some wireless network

requirements, while pushing to cut environmental reviews related to

rocket launches.

"There's been a lot of focus on their contract wins," said Todd

Harrison, a defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute, a

conservative-leaning think tank. "In the bigger scheme, the regulatory

wins have more systemic, long-term implications for their business

model."

Deere's Profit Rises as Sales Climb

Deere posted higher profit and sales in its fiscal third quarter, as

continued growth in the company's construction equipment business helped

to offset ongoing weakness in its production agriculture segment.

The company posted a profit of $1.38 billion for its three months

ended Aug. 2, compared with $1.29 billion in last year's comparable

period. On a per-share basis, quarterly earnings of $5.10 a share topped

the $4.69 a share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Net sales and revenues climbed 6.2% to $11 billion, ahead of Wall

Street models for $10.81 billion. The total top-line figure came in at

$12.61 billion.

Crypto Stocks Continue to Surge After Upbeat White House Meeting

U.S. stocks linked to cryptocurrencies kept this week's rally going on

Thursday as investors jumped on President Trump's reaffirmed support for

crypto-friendly legislation.

In a White House meeting with industry executives, Trump urged

Congress to pass the Clarity Act, which is currently stalled amid

disagreement over ethics language.

If passed, it would establish a regulatory framework for digital

currencies, allowing for greater integration of Bitcoin and its peers

into the U.S. economy.

U.S. Leading Indicators Ticked Up in July

U.S. leading economic indicators edged higher in July as everything

except consumer expectations took a turn for the better, indicating that

moderate growth could be coming.

The Leading Economic Index, or LEI, published by research group The

Conference Board, rose by 0.2% to 99.5, following an upwardly revised

0.1% decrease in June.

The index's six-month growth rate is now positive, rising 0.2% between

January and July, which is sharp reversal from the 1.3% contraction from

the prior six months, The Conference Board said.

TALKING POINT The Treasury Market's Coveted Status as a Safe Haven Is Fading

This year's upward march in bond yields has many drivers, from sticky inflation to heavy AI-linked corporate borrowing.

Lurking in the background, though, is a more troubling possibility. Treasurys, long the world's preferred "safe" asset, are looking less safe. Relative to other securities, their yields are no longer quite so low, and in moments of stress, they don't behave like a haven.

The main reason for this is that since the pandemic, the U.S. has flooded the market with additional debt, reaching $40 trillion, including intragovernmental debt, this week. There is no sign that the flood will abate.

The U.S. Treasury's surprise announcement Wednesday that it would boost buybacks of less-liquid longer-term debt simply treats the symptoms rather than the underlying cause. The move, while reducing yields in the short run, might yet raise them in the long run by eroding the U.S.'s reputation for stability and predictability.

Treasury debt has long enjoyed a unique status globally. It is backed by the unparalleled economic and financial strength of the United States, denominated in the world's preferred reserve currency, and overseen by strong and stable laws and institutions, in particular the Federal Reserve and the Treasury itself.

Treasurys don't just fund the U.S. government. They are where investors and governments like to park extra cash, for example, to defend their currencies. They are used to price, hedge and collateralize countless transactions in unrelated markets.

--Greg Ip

Expected Major Events for Friday 00:30/JPN: Aug Japan Flash Manufacturing PMI

05:00/JPN: Jul Steel Production

06:00/UK: Jul Public sector finances

06:00/UK: Jul Retail sales

06:45/FRA: Aug Monthly business survey (goods-producing industries)

07:15/FRA: Aug France Flash PMI

07:30/GER: Aug Germany Flash PMI

08:30/UK: Aug Flash UK PMI

12:30/CAN: Jun Retail trade

13:45/US: Aug US Flash Manufacturing PMI

13:45/US: Aug US Flash Services PMI

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

August 20, 2026 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)