Costco, Gap, Zumiez Drive Up Retailers
NEW YORK (
) -- Retail shares trended higher Thursday afternoon, as the sector reported its strongest same-store sales results in nearly two years.
The S&P Retail Index grew 1% in afternoon trading to 360.93, after the International Council of Shopping Centers said August comparable sales slipped 2%, less than the 4% previously expected.
Out of the 28 retailers tracked by
TheStreet.com
, 13 beat Wall Street's forecast.
Gap
(GPS) - Get Report
was one of the biggest surprises, posting a 3% decline, better than the 7% drop analysts expected. Shares of the specialty retailer jumped 7% to $21.08.
Costco Wholesale
(COST) - Get Report
was also a big mover, soaring 8% to $54.61, after it said comparable sales sank 2%. Analysts on average were calling for a decline of 5.7%.
Even though both
Saks
(SKS)
and
Nordstrom
(JWN) - Get Report
missed their same-store sales marks, shares of the the high-end department stores also rallied. Saks was up 5.5% to $5.77, while Nordstrom grew 7% to $29.13.
Other big movers included:
Zumiez
(ZUMZ) - Get Report
, which shot up 17% to $14.30;
Pacific Sunwear of California
(PSUN)
, which rose 11.5% to $4.46'
Aeropostale
(ARO)
, which jumped 6% to $40.87; and
American Eagle Outfitters
(AEO) - Get Report
, which was up 7% to $14.50.
But not everyone was so lucky.
Abercrombie & Fitch
(ANF) - Get Report
reported a 29% plunge in same-store sales during the month, significantly worse than the 23.9% analysts expected. As a result, the company's shares declined 4% to $30.73.
Rite Aid
(RAD) - Get Report
was also punished for worse-than-expected results, falling 2.5% to $1.50 this afternoon. Rite Aid posted a 1.9% slip in sales compared to an anticipated drop of 0.6%.
Shares of
Family Dollar Stores
(FDO)
plummeted 9% to $28.27 after the discounter said it missed its fourth-quarter sales goal.
Sales for the period ended Aug. 29 rose 2.6% to $1.81 billion, but the company had predicted a gain of between 4% and 6%.
-Reported by Jeanine Poggi in New York.
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