Retail Losers: Rite Aid, Bed Bath & Beyond

(Stock prices updated.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Retailers are feeling the pain of the housing market.

Worse-than-expected existing home sales sent shares of retailers in the red Thursday afternoon. The S&P Retail Index dropped 1% to 377.88, led down by Rite Aid(RAD Quote) and AnnTaylor Stores(ANN Quote).

Shares of Rite Aid plunged 12% to close at $1.71, after the drugstore said it expects a bigger loss for the year. After reporting a loss of $116 million, or 14 cents a share, management says it now expects a full-year loss between 48 cents and 74 cents a share.

AnnTaylor sank 4% to $15.56 after Goldman Sachs removed the women's retailer from its buy list.

Buy Ann Taylor!: Against the Grain

"While we see potential upside to consensus expectations due to more brand-appropriate product and improvements to inventory/merchandise flow, shares have almost doubled since two months ago and, as with any turnaround, risks still remain," analyst Michelle Tan wrote in a note to clients. She now rates the company neutral.

Other women's retailers also fell. Talbots(TLB Quote) declined nearly 2% to end the day at $8.73, Coldwater Creek(CWTR Quote) tanked 3% to $8.01, Chico's FAS(CHS Quote) fell 3.5% to $12.72 and New York & Company(NWY Quote) was off 3% to close at $5.31.

Bed Bath & Beyond(BBBY Quote) also gave up yesterday's gains after it was downgraded by an analyst at Credit Suisse.

Analyst Gary Balter of Credit Suisse said the downgrade had nothing to do with either earnings or management; he says he simply can't justify the stock price.