By Joe Wallace and Vicky Ge Huang

Walmart said it will raise prices in response to tariffs, a move that stands to ripple through the retail industry and the U.S. economy.

The company, one of the biggest and most cost-focused U.S. retailers, reported strong results Thursday. Its plans to raise prices this month and early this summer mean Walmart will pass along some of the costs it incurs as tariffed merchandise hits store shelves.

Walmart shares fell 2% early Thursday, in part because the company didn't share a profit forecast for the current quarter, saying it may absorb some tariff costs to keep prices competitive.

Across the broader economy, a new report showed retail sales grew just 0.1% in April, slowing from 1.7% a month earlier.

Data from Ireland added to evidence of tariff-fueled economic distortions, showing a ninefold leap in pharma exports to the U.S. as drugmakers rushed to beat potential import levies.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned the world could be entering an era of more volatile inflation, with "more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks-a difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks."

Meanwhile, President Trump turned his sights on India, which he called "one of the highest-tariff nations in the world." He claimed New Delhi had offered the U.S. a deal where "basically they're willing to literally charge us no tariffs," and scolded Apple's chief executive, Tim Cook, for expanding production in India.

Speaking at the same event in Qatar, the president indicated the U.S. was close to a deal in which Tehran would drop its nuclear-weapon ambitions. Such an agreement could in theory lead to higher Iranian crude exports, which are under strict U.S. sanctions.

In recent trading:

U.S. indexes were mixed, with the Dow up after opening lower and the Nasdaq down a bit.

Ten-year Treasury yields ticked down, after rising for five days through Wednesday.

U.S. oil futures fell 2% on the Trump Iran comments.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2025 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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