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Dow Jones breaches 40,000, Walmart earnings, Meta investigation: Morning Brief

On today's episode of The Morning Brief, Yahoo Finance Hosts Seana Smith and Brad Smith break down major market news and the trading day ahead. The three major stock market averages (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC) opened higher after the S&P 500 closed at a record 5,300 yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average touched 40,000 while the Nasdaq Composite remains relatively flat. Shares of Walmart (WMT) are rising after the retail giant beat analyst first quarter earnings estimates. The company saw same-store sales grow 3.8% while its e-commerce sales popped 22% year over year. The company also raised its full-year sales and profit guidance. Walmart CFO John David Rainey joins the show to break down earnings, pointing to Walmart's value as a key area of success. TD Cowen Senior Research Analyst Oliver Chen says the retail giant is particularly successful because it appeals to both higher- and lower-end consumers. Meanwhile, Meta (META) is under pressure after the European Union announced a formal investigation into Facebook and Instagram, citing child safety concerns. The company told Yahoo Finance, "We want young people to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online and have spent a decade developing more than 50 tools and policies designed to protect them. This is a challenge the whole industry is facing, and we look forward to sharing details of our work with the European Commission." More than 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported their latest quarterly earnings. Goldman Sachs Chief US Equity Strategist David Kostin breaks down three themes that dominated this quarter: artificial intelligence, the US consumer, and cost controls. Dow Inc. (DOW) CFO Jeff Tate joins to discuss the manufacturing materials company's growth and how it fits into the AI picture. This post was written by Melanie Riehl