Consumer stocks were lower Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) decreasing 0.9% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) down 0.8%.
In corporate news, Hormel Foods (HRL) lowered its fiscal 2026 sales outlook on Thursday as it reported mixed Q3 results, with the top line pressured amid a challenging consumer environment. Its shares fell past 9%.
Dollar General (DG) and Dollar Tree (DLTR) raised their full-year earnings outlooks on Thursday as the discount retailers' bottom-lines benefitted from tariff refunds in the fiscal Q2. Dollar General shares rose past 4%, and Dollar Tree was down 3.3%.
Unilever (UL) has hired Rothschild to market its 212-year-old Colman's mustard brand as it seeks to address potential competition concerns from the planned combination of its food business with McCormick (MKC), Sky News reported. Unilever shares were shedding 0.5%.