Wal-mart is expecting third quarter earnings to be at the low end of forecasts after August sales disappointed. The world's biggest retailer said that US same store sales in August grew by only 0.5 per cent, below the 2 to 4 per cent the company had forecast. Sales were lower after demand for back-to-school ranges fell short of forecasts.

As a result, its third-quarter forecast for same-store US sales growth has been reduced to 2 to 4 per cent from a previous forecast of 3 percent to 5 percent.