Wal-Mart shares gain a third straight session on Tuesday, more corporate jobs slated for reduction

According to an April 11th statement by Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT), more corporate jobs are to be cut at the retailer in the United States during the present month, despite investment efforts in the enhancement of its e-commerce operations. Reductions are expected to affect “hundreds of jobs” in Wal-Marts international and technology businesses.

Wal-Mart shares closed higher for a third consecutive trading session on Tuesday. The stock went up 0.51% ($0.37) to $73.43, with the intraday high and the intraday low being at $73.45 and $72.93 respectively. In the week ended on April 9th the shares of the retail chain added 1.14% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of gains, but yet, the smallest increase since the week ended on March 12th. The stock has extended its advance to 1.87% so far during the current month, following a 1.62% surge in March. The latter has been a second straight month of gains. For the entire past year, Wal-Mart shares gained 12.76%.

“As we said in January, to fuel our growth and our investments we have to manage our costs and our capital decisions with discipline”, Randy Hargrove, a spokesperson for Wal-Mart, said, cited by Reuters. “This means we will continue to find ways to operate more efficiently and effectively.”

In 2016, the retail chain cut 7 000 back-office jobs, as it moved more personnel to sales, while earlier in 2017, over 1 000 positions in human resources were eliminated.

According to CNN Money, the 31 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Wal-Mart’s stock price, have a median target of $73.00, with a high estimate of $90.00 and a low estimate of $60.00. The median estimate is a 0.59% decrease compared to the closing price of $73.43 on April 11th.

The same media also reported that 20 out of 36 surveyed investment analysts had rated Wal-Mart Stores stock as “Hold”, while 12 – as “Buy”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Wal-Mart stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $73.48
R2 – $73.53
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $73.57
R4 (Long Breakout) – $73.72
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $73.88
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $73.95

S1 – $73.38
S2 – $73.33
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $73.29
S4 (Short Breakout) – $73.14
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $72.98
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $72.91

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $72.42
R1 – $73.47
R2 – $74.03
R3 – $75.08
R4 – $76.12

S1 – $71.86
S2 – $70.81
S3 – $70.25
S4 – $69.68