Home Depot’s sales continued to fade during the fourth quarter as the country’s largest home improvement retailer feels the impact of high mortgage rates and inflation on its customers. While quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations, the company’s sales expectations for this year weighed on shares early. Shares slipped more than 2% before the opening bell Tuesday. Rival Lowe’s, which reports fourth-quarter earnings next week, fell more than 2%. Home Depot reported fourth-quarter sales of $34.79 billion, down from $35.83 in the prior-year period. …Sales at stores open at least a year, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, fell 3.5%. In the U.S., same store sales declined 4%. …A terrible climate for homebuyers is to blame, said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. …Home Depot predicts fiscal 2024 sales growth of about 1%, including the 53rd week. It anticipates same-store sales will be down about 1% for the 52-week period.