Stocks may end four-day slide as retail leads way# Stock
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U.S. stocks edged higher Tuesday and were on track to climb out of a four-da
y slump, as investors focused on earnings reports from several prominent ret
ailers.
J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) posted a big loss that was even worse than th
e forecasts. Despite that, the struggling retailer noted that its same store
sales, a key measure for retailers, were slightly better than they were dur
ing the first quarter of 2013. Shares surged in early morning trading on the
news, but then struggled to hold on to those gains.
The retailer's future was a popular topic on StockTwits and some investors q
uestioned why the stock rose in the first place.
duke2duke: $JCP good luck bulls. Buying on the promise of back to school whe
n the numbers showed otherwise. The market is irrational, is what it is. Bea
rish
racernic: i don't get this obsession w/$JCP.walk away.company in terrible si
tuation trying 2do the improbable. easier trades elsewhere. 2dy as ex
Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) has also struggled recently, but appears to be a
step ahead of J.C. Penney in the turnaround process. The electronics retail
er reported a surge in profit, which CEO Hubert Joly attributed to aggressiv
e cost-cutting. The stock was up about 10% Tuesday and has now gained 185% s
o far this year.
Retailers Urban Outfitters (URBN) and TJX (TJX, Fortune 500) were also top p
erformers in the S&P 500 after releasing solid earnings reports.
Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500)announced a gain in quarterly net profit and rai
sed its guidance for 2013. Its rival Lowe's (LOW, Fortune 500) will report r
esults tomorrow.
But not all the reports from retailers were good. Struggling bookseller Barn
es & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500) recorded a loss and said revenue from its Nook
tablet business was down 20% from the same quarter last year. The stock plu
nged and at least one trader on StockTwits had little hope for a rebound.
graubart: I would like Barnes & Noble to survive. But I don't find any benef
it to shopping there. And can't see a path to a sustainable future. $BKS
Related: Fear & Greed Index ruled by Fear
Besides earnings, there was little market-moving news Tuesday. The Dow Jones
industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all edged slightly higher.
The Dow and S&P 500 recorded their first four-day losing streak of the year
on Monday. Still, the indexes are both up about 15% for the year, and the Na
sdaq has gained 19%.
Investors continue to speculate about when the U.S. will begin to tighten mo
netary policy.
The minutes from the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting will be
closely watched on Wednesday for clues as to when the central bank will begi
n tapering its $85 billion a month in bond purchases.
More signals could come from the Kansas City Fed's annual conference in Jack
son Hole, Wyo., later this week.
Related: SEC bans Phil Falcone from trading for 5 years
European markets were lower, with investors tracking losses on Wall Street a
nd paring back risk before the Fed minutes.
Asia markets were also lower across the board on worries that possible chang
es to the Fed's bond-buying program will suck capital out of riskier markets
. Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.6%, the Hang Seng lost 2.3% and the Shanghai Comp
osite was off 0.6%.
Shares in China Everbright Securities fell 10% as investors had their first
chance to respond to restrictions placed on the broker's activities after tr
ading glitches on Friday and Monday.
Indian stocks fell again as the rupee continued to hit new lows against the
dollar.
y slump, as investors focused on earnings reports from several prominent ret
ailers.
J.C. Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) posted a big loss that was even worse than th
e forecasts. Despite that, the struggling retailer noted that its same store
sales, a key measure for retailers, were slightly better than they were dur
ing the first quarter of 2013. Shares surged in early morning trading on the
news, but then struggled to hold on to those gains.
The retailer's future was a popular topic on StockTwits and some investors q
uestioned why the stock rose in the first place.
duke2duke: $JCP good luck bulls. Buying on the promise of back to school whe
n the numbers showed otherwise. The market is irrational, is what it is. Bea
rish
racernic: i don't get this obsession w/$JCP.walk away.company in terrible si
tuation trying 2do the improbable. easier trades elsewhere. 2dy as ex
Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) has also struggled recently, but appears to be a
step ahead of J.C. Penney in the turnaround process. The electronics retail
er reported a surge in profit, which CEO Hubert Joly attributed to aggressiv
e cost-cutting. The stock was up about 10% Tuesday and has now gained 185% s
o far this year.
Retailers Urban Outfitters (URBN) and TJX (TJX, Fortune 500) were also top p
erformers in the S&P 500 after releasing solid earnings reports.
Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500)announced a gain in quarterly net profit and rai
sed its guidance for 2013. Its rival Lowe's (LOW, Fortune 500) will report r
esults tomorrow.
But not all the reports from retailers were good. Struggling bookseller Barn
es & Noble (BKS, Fortune 500) recorded a loss and said revenue from its Nook
tablet business was down 20% from the same quarter last year. The stock plu
nged and at least one trader on StockTwits had little hope for a rebound.
graubart: I would like Barnes & Noble to survive. But I don't find any benef
it to shopping there. And can't see a path to a sustainable future. $BKS
Related: Fear & Greed Index ruled by Fear
Besides earnings, there was little market-moving news Tuesday. The Dow Jones
industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all edged slightly higher.
The Dow and S&P 500 recorded their first four-day losing streak of the year
on Monday. Still, the indexes are both up about 15% for the year, and the Na
sdaq has gained 19%.
Investors continue to speculate about when the U.S. will begin to tighten mo
netary policy.
The minutes from the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting will be
closely watched on Wednesday for clues as to when the central bank will begi
n tapering its $85 billion a month in bond purchases.
More signals could come from the Kansas City Fed's annual conference in Jack
son Hole, Wyo., later this week.
Related: SEC bans Phil Falcone from trading for 5 years
European markets were lower, with investors tracking losses on Wall Street a
nd paring back risk before the Fed minutes.
Asia markets were also lower across the board on worries that possible chang
es to the Fed's bond-buying program will suck capital out of riskier markets
. Japan's Nikkei dropped 2.6%, the Hang Seng lost 2.3% and the Shanghai Comp
osite was off 0.6%.
Shares in China Everbright Securities fell 10% as investors had their first
chance to respond to restrictions placed on the broker's activities after tr
ading glitches on Friday and Monday.
Indian stocks fell again as the rupee continued to hit new lows against the
dollar.