Shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) are trading close to new highs but sold off recently along with several other retail stocks. In its most recent earnings report, (NYSE: WMT) said it is more cautious about the holiday quarter than it was three months ago. It noted sluggish sales in the second half of October.

Walmart is seen as a barometer for the health of consumer spending since it is such a large business. Slowing retail sales could be a problem for Costco shares, which trade at a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.6 (compared to the 23.5 P/E ratio for the S 500 index). The company's October sales report also showed a slight deceleration in comparable sales over September.

Let's find out more about how Walmart's news might impact Costco, and the stock, in the near term.

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Source Fool.com