I think $Walmart(WMT.US)Walmart’s 9% drop is a useful warning that the US consumer is becoming more selective, rather than simply collapsing. A 2.6% comparable-sales growth rate, despite a strong earnings beat and raised guidance, suggests that spending momentum is cooling, especially when the profit beat was partly helped by a one-off tariff refund. I’m watching Costco, Home Depot and Amazon closely because weakness across these names could signal a broader normalization in consumer demand rather than an isolated Walmart issue.

For me, the bigger picture remains mixed rather than outright bearish. Long-end Treasury yields moving back up show that investors are still demanding a higher risk premium, while AI-related memory and optical names such as Micron, SK Hynix and Lumentum continue to show strong underlying demand. Alibaba is another good example: AI/cloud growth is accelerating, but heavy capex is compressing near-term profits. I’m therefore staying patient and selective, especially ahead of NVIDIA earnings and Jackson Hole, because the next catalyst could determine whether this pullback is simply a healthy correction or the start of a deeper valuation reset.