Major US stock indexes fell sharply, reaching a 3-week low, as weak quarterly results from retailers, including Target (TGT) and Kohl (KSS), as well as the fall in the energy sector caused Wall Street, which still retreat from the collapse of the technology sector.

In addition, the focus was on data on the US housing market. As it became known, US housing construction rose in October amid a rebound in multi-unit housing projects, but the construction of single-family homes fell for the second month in a row, suggesting that the housing market is still weak as mortgage rates rose in March. Bookmarking new homes rose 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,228 million units last month, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. The data for September were revised from 1,201 million units to 1,210 million units.

All components of DOW finished trading in the red (30 out of 30). Apple Inc.’s shares turned out to be an outsider. (AAPL, -4.78%).

All sectors of the S & P recorded a decline. The largest decline was in the commodity sector (-3.2%)

U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as a decline in Target (TGT; -11.9%) shares pressured retailers, while the technology rout in the previous session sparked by concerns over iPhone sales sapped investors’ appetite for high-growth names.

Global Stocks:

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Exxon Mobil (XOM) downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James

Lowe's Companies (LOW) reported Q3 FY 2018 earnings of $1.04 per share (versus $1.05 in Q3 FY 2017), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.98.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $17.415 bln (+3.8% y/y), generally in-line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $17.358 bln.

The company also issued downside guidance for FY 2018, projecting EPS of $5.08-5.13 (versus analysts’ consensus estimate of $5.16) and revenues of +4% y/y to ~$70 bln (versus analysts’ consensus estimate of $71.59 bln and its prior guidance of +4.5% y/y).

LOW fell to $85.15 (-6.79%) in pre-market trading.

Target Corp. (TGT) reported Q3 FY 2018 earnings of $1.09 per share (versus $0.91 in Q3 FY 2017), missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.11.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $17.590 bln (+5.7% y/y), missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $17.810 bln.

TGT fell to $69.95 (-9.33%) in pre-market trading.

A negative start of trading on the stock markets of Europe is expected, following basically similar tones on Wall Street. Meanwhile, Asian stock markets are also showing negative results.