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Retail Winners: AnnTaylor, PacSun Surge
By Jeanine Poggi
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
11/16/09 03:16 PM EST

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Retailers are rallying after October sales grew more than expected.

The S&P Retail Indexis rising 1.3% to 410.53, after the Commerce Department said sales for the month jumped 1.4%, better than the 1% uptick analysts' forecast.

Women's retailers are seeing some the biggest gains after AnnTaylor Stores (ANN:NYSE) was upgraded to buy from hold by Jesup & Lamont.

Shares of the company are spiking 8.9% to $14.13 in afternoon trading and sent up its rivals. Chico's (CHS:NYSE) is advancing 6.5% to $13.71, Charming Shoppes (CHRS:NYSE) is soaring 7.4% to $5.25 and Talbots (TLB:NYSE) is spiking 11.5% to $8.51.

Also in the spotlight is teen retailers Pacific Sunwear of California (PSUN:NYSE) and Hot Topic (HOTT:NYSE) .

PacSun, which is slated to report its third-quarter results at the close, has seen some merchandise improvement. Analysts expect the company to lose 20 cents a share during the quarter.

Shares of the surf-inspired retailer are leaping 6.1% to $5.08 in afternoon trading.

Hot Topic is set to report its results on Tuesday, and is up 4.7% to $6.87.

Other notable movers include Office Depot (ODP:NYSE) , which is up 5% to $6.90, Steven Madden (SHOO:NYSE) , which has added 6.3% to $40.30 and American Apparel (AAP:NYSE) , which is surging 11.7% to $3.35.

One of the only retailers in the red is Lowe's (LOW:NYSE) , which is falling 0.5% to $21.74, after posting a 30% drop in third-quarter earnings.

Revenue also slipped 3% to $11.38 billion from $11.73, while same-store sales sank 7.5%.

-- Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York

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