Retail Shares In the Red on Earnings Reports

Retailers were awash in red Thursday afternoon on the heels of a bevy of disappointing earnings reports from the sector this week.

The S&P Retail Index tumbled 3% to 312.95 led down by specialty retailers Hot Topic(HOTT Quote), New York & Company(NWY Quote)and AnnTaylor Stores(ANN Quote).

Hot Topic was downgraded today by analysts after the company said on Wednesday that it expects a bigger loss in its second quarter. The news sent shares down 17% to close at $7.29.

Before the opening bell New York & Company said it swung to a loss in the first quarter, which sent shares plunging 27.5% to end the day at $3.31.

AnnTaylor continued on its downward spiral, dropping 7.4% to close at $7.38, after the women's apparel retailer reported a first-quarter loss on Wednesday and remained cautious looking toward the second-half of the year.

The department store sector also took a beating coming off last week's dismal results. Macy's(M Quote) lost 5% to $11.28, Sear's(SHLD Quote) declined 6% to $50.19, J.C. Penney(JCP Quote) slipped 5% to $25.10 and Saks(SKS Quote) tanked 9% to $4.02. Another major loser was GameStop(GME Quote), which dropped 15.5% to end the day at $22.38, after the video game and entertainment retailer issued a second quarter warning.

There were a few strands of green, mostly from value-priced players like Wal-Mart Stores(WMT Quote), Ross Stores(ROST Quote) and Stein Mart(SMRT Quote).

Earlier today both Ross Stores and Stein Mart posted growth in first quarter profit. Ross saw a 15% boost and raised its full-year outlook, while Stein Mart more than doubled its profit.

Shares of Ross Stores jumped 8% to $38.71, while Stein Mart nearly doubled its price to close at $6.54.