US equity markets weaker on the eve of the latest monetary policy decision and pronouncements from the Federal Reserve, and amid a flood of corporate earnings releases - Dow fell -229-points or -0.71%, Walmart Inc fell 7.60% after the big box retailer downgraded its fiscal second quarter and full year profit guidance after the close of the previous session, citing the impacts of inflation. The broader S&P500 -1.15%, with Consumer Discretionary (down 3.31%) as Walmart’s result weighed on the sector, leading eight of the eleven primary sectors lower. Target Corp dropped -3.6%, Kohl’s Corp -9.12% and Nordstrom Inc -5.78%. Shopify Inc tumbled -14.06% after the payments provider announced it’s laying off ~10% of its global workforce, citing a pullback in online spending and saying it misjudged how long the pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom would last. The e-commerce retailer releases its quarterly result tonight AEST. More defensive sectors outperformed, with Utilities up +0.61% and Health Care +0.55%. The Nasdaq -1.87%. The small capitalisation Russell 2000 lost -0.69%