New York, January 19, 2026, 11:26 AM EST — Market closed
Home Depot (HD.N) shares closed Friday up roughly 0.3% at $380.17. Investors will have to hold tight until Tuesday to gauge the impact of the latest tariff news on U.S. retail stocks. The New York Stock Exchange will remain closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (New York Stock Exchange)
Why it matters now: tariff threats pressure retailers from both angles — denting risk appetite and pushing up costs. Higher import duties can choke margins unless companies pass the burden to consumers. Stock index futures dropped over 1% Monday after President Donald Trump threatened new tariffs on goods from several European countries amid a dispute involving Greenland. (Reuters)
Some investors remain hopeful Washington will pull back, but weekend developments reignited chatter about a wider “Sell America” shift as fund managers reevaluated U.S. holdings, Reuters reported. Leonard Kwan, fixed-income portfolio manager at T Rowe Price, called it “more noise than signal at this point.” (Reuters)
Trump announced plans to slap an extra 10% tariff starting Feb. 1 on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Britain. If no agreement is reached, that rate will jump to 25% on June 1, according to a separate Reuters markets report. “Hopes that the tariff situation has calmed down for this year have been dashed for now,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg. (Reuters)
Home Depot warned earlier that tariffs might trigger “modest” price bumps on certain products, though it maintained its annual outlook. It’s a clear sign trade policies still ripple down to store shelves. (Reuters)
Housing sets the broader scene for home-improvement demand. Existing home sales in the U.S. climbed 5.1% in December, buoyed by falling mortgage rates, even as inventory remained scarce, Reuters reported last week. (Reuters)
Home Depot is also under scrutiny from investors over privacy and civil-rights concerns, Reuters reported on Jan. 16. A group of shareholders wants the company to evaluate risks related to how data from third-party surveillance vendors is shared with law enforcement. Home Depot responded that it cannot legally block federal agencies from entering its stores or parking lots. (Reuters)
European policymakers are weighing retaliation measures, ranging from a wide tariff package to deploying the EU’s “anti-coercion instrument,” a tool meant to counteract economic pressure. This keeps the trade dispute front and center heading into the week, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
There’s a catch for investors reacting to the headlines. Should the tariff threat ease, Home Depot might start tracking rates and housing data again. If it ramps up, retailers could deal with rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and tougher price battles.
Wall Street kicks back into gear Tuesday, Jan. 20, with eyes on how tariff concerns might ripple through consumer and retail stocks. Home Depot will unveil its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 24 at 9 a.m. ET, a key event that could shake up forecasts around demand, pricing, and the company’s outlook for 2026.
