Same-Store Sales: Tomorrow's Headliners

Target and other retail stocks will be in focus Thursday as the group reports same-store sales results for January.
By Robert Holmes ,

NEW YORK (

TheStreet

) --

Target

(TGT) - Get Report

and other retail stocks will be in the spotlight Thursday as the group will be releasing same-store sales results for January.

The

Thomson Reuters

same-store sales index is expected to post a 2.5% increase for January, compared with a 2.9% rise in December and much stronger than January 2009's 5.7% decline.

Discount and apparel retailers, such as

Gap

(GPS) - Get Report

,

TJX

(TJX) - Get Report

and

Costco Wholesale

(COST) - Get Report

, are expected to perform best.

On the other hand, teen/child apparel stores like

Abercrombie & Fitch

(ANF) - Get Report

and

Hot Topic

(HOTT)

and department stores including

J.C. Penney

(JCP) - Get Report

are expected to once again see weak comparable store numbers.

Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research at

Thomson Reuters

, said it's important for investors to note that retailers are facing some of the easiest year-ago comparisons. She also notes that unemployment has remained high, which puts a damper on consumer spending.

"Historically, when unemployment is high, consumer confidence remains low," Martis wrote in a sales preview Wednesday. "Moreover, colder-than-usual weather in the U.S. could hinder demand for spring merchandise. Yet, retailers did see a spike in gift cards this holiday season that could help retail sales stay positive in the following months as cards are redeemed."

Investors will also be watching for a handful of earnings reports, with

Northrop Grumman

(NOC) - Get Report

,

Sony

(SNE) - Get Report

,

MasterCard

(MA) - Get Report

,

Kellogg

(K) - Get Report

and

Cigna

(CI) - Get Report

, among many others, set to report quarterly results before the start of trading.

On the economic front, Thursday will bring the Labor Departments weekly read on initial jobless claims, which is expected to show a decline to 455,000 claims from 470,000 the week before. In addition, a report on fourth-quarter productivity will be released at 8:30 a.m. EST, followed by December factory orders data at 10 a.m. EST.

-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston

.

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