Despite better-than-expected January sales figures, another announcement this morning from Walmart sent stock index futures south. Walmart announced that it will no longer provide monthly sales forecast guidance, spooking traders in pre-market activity. This is worrisome, given that Walmart apparently sees trouble ahead. As the world's retail discounting goliath, when Walmart sees trouble, it gets the market's attention. Personally, I think this announcement will have only temporary, short-term impact.In related news, however, other retail sales reports from other retailers, including both Macy's and Target, have been generally better than expected. Sales results for January have been better than the terrible expectations, almost across the board.
