Retailers Rally on Positive Earnings

Better-than-expected earnings at several chains led retailers out of the ditches on Thursday.

After the sector tumbled earlier in the week due to disappointing April sales and a poor showing by

Macy's

(M) - Get Report

, the S&P Retail Index was up 1% to $317.59 in afternoon trading.

Kohl's

(KSS) - Get Report

and

Urban Outfitters

(URBN) - Get Report

both reported earnings that surpassed analyst expectations, sending department and specialty retailers rebounding.

While shares remained relatively flat, Macy's gained 1% to $11.60,

JCPenney

(JCP) - Get Report

rose 2.3% to $27.12 and

Sear's

(SHLD)

grew 1% to $52.12.

Urban Outfitters received a 4% boost from investors to $19.56, while

Abercrombie & Fitch

(ANF) - Get Report

buoyed 6% to $27.02,

Aeropostale

(ARO)

increased 4% to $33.19 and

American Eagle Outfitters

(AEO) - Get Report

flew 2.2% to $14.16.

J.Crew

(JCG)

inflated 6% to$18.82 and

Gap

(GPS) - Get Report

rose 1.4% to $15.57.

While

Wal-Mart

(WMT) - Get Report

posted flat income in its first-quarter and met forecasts, it was not enough to entice investors. Shares of the discounter declined 2.3% to $48.88 in afternoon trading. Rival

Target

(TGT) - Get Report

, however, saw a 1.4% jump to $41.03.

Even office suppliers, which were among the biggest losers on Wednesday, made some substantial gains.

Staples

(SPLS)

was up 2.5% to $19.71,

OfficeMax

(OMX)

bounced 6% to $7.05 and

Office Depot

(ODP) - Get Report

soared 12% to $3.43.

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