The three main U.S. equity indexes closed lower on Thursday as rising Treasury yields dented risk appetite, disappointing results from retail bellwether Walmart soured investors on the consumer sector and rallying oil prices fanned inflation worries.
Walmart shares fell sharply after it missed Wall Street expectations for quarterly comparable sales as rising gasoline prices had shoppers reining in spending. The report dragged down the S&P 500 consumer staples index and consumer discretionary.
