Retailers Report Strong April Sales

Updated from 10:46 a.m. EDT

Retailers surprised Wall Street to the upside Thursday, as Wal-Mart(WMT Quote - Cramer on WMT - Stock Picks), Costco(COST Quote - Cramer on COST - Stock Picks) and several big names reported rising April sales.

Wal-Mart said April same-store sales climbed 3.2% last month, excluding fuel sales, a result that topped expectations. Total sales for the month climbed 9.8% to $29.18 billion. Shares were recently up 1% to $57.39.

Costco said comps were up 8% last month. Its shares were flat on the day at $72.09. BJ's Wholesale(BJ Quote - Cramer on BJ - Stock Picks) had an increase of 17.8% in comps and Gap(GPS Quote - Cramer on GPS - Stock Picks) was also a positive, lifting its first-quarter profit forecast. Those two stocks were down 2.44% and 0.77%, respectively.

On the down side, Limited (LTD Quote - Cramer on LTD - Stock Picks) had a same-store sales decline of 5%. Its shares are up on the day, at $17.90.

Elsewhere in retail, Best Buy(BBY Quote - Cramer on BBY - Stock Picks) was off 88 cents, to $42.57. The retailer said it is investing $2.1 billion for a 50% stake in The Carphone Warehouse, Europe's largest cell phone retailer.