Home Depot, Macy's Show How Consumers Are Propping Up the U.S. Economy

The stock market came into the holiday-shortened week Tuesday on an uncertain note, with rapidly developing events in Ukraine showing how serious investors are about conflict with Russia. As of 8:15 a.m. ET, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) were down 63 points to 33,944. S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) futures had declined 6 points to 4,338, while Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) futures were down 71 points to 13,925.

The consumer economy makes up a huge part of overall business activity in the U.S., and while the COVID-19 pandemic has put huge strains on typical Americans, measures that the government has taken to provide financial assistance did their part to prevent full-blown economic collapse. As those government measures have phased out, however, some have been concerned about the potential impact on retail stocks. In that light, Tuesday morning's reports from The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Macy's (NYSE: M) were quite illuminating and have a lot to say not just to their shareholders but to the broader investment community.

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Source Fool.com