• US stocks opened lower Tuesday after Walmart issued a profit warning late Monday.
  • Walmart said high inflation has caused consumers to spend less on general merchandise, especially clothing.
  • That raised more fears about inflation as the Fed prepares another steep increase in rates on Wednesday.

Us stocks opened lower Tuesday as a profit warning from Walmart dragged down markets and stoked more inflation worries. 

The company trimmed its profit projection after the closing bell on Monday, citing rising inflation and a hit to consumer spending power. The discount giant said high prices caused consumers to spend less on general merchandise, especially clothing.

The warning came as the Federal Reserve prepares another steep increase in rates on Wednesday to fight inflation.

Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday: 

Elsewhere, the European Union finalized a proposal to curb gas consumption by 15% starting August 1, a day after Russia's Gazprom said it would cut flows via the Nord Stream pipeline once more. Natural gas prices in Europe jumped on the news. 

Markets may have already bottomed, according to Ed Yardeni, who pointed to the S&P 500's 18-month low close on June 16. He accurately called market bottoms in 1982 and 2008. 

Gasoline prices are so high that 64% of consumers said they made a substantial change to their driving habits, according to a AAA survey.

And demand for new homes is falling further, says Pantheon Macroeconomics. Chief economist Ian Shepherdson said in a note that single-family homes are significantly overvalued ahead of fresh housing data Tuesday. 

Oil prices extended gains, with West Texas Intermediate crude climbing 1.6% to $98.40 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 1.5% to $106.72 per barrel. 

Gold was little changed, changing hands at $1715.63 an ounce. The 10-year yield fell 8.4 basis points to 2.736%. 

Bitcoin ticked down 3.9% to $20.906. 

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