Markets Await Retail Earnings Thursday: Macy's, Kohl's and Nordstrom

Retail earnings take center stage on Thursday, August 11. Macy's (M) - Get Report reports quarterly results before the markets open. Analysts expect the retailer to post earnings of $0.45 a share on sales of $5.74 billion. During the same quarter a year ago, Macy's posted earnings of $0.64 a share on revenue of $6.1 billion. Investors await commentary on whether sales continue to be affected by Amazon (AMZN) - Get Report and lower spending from tourists. As for Kohl's Corporation (KSS) - Get Report , which also releases earnings before the markets open, analysts forecast earnings of $1.03 a share on sales of $4.16 billion. In the year ago quarter, Kohl's posted profit of $1.06 a share with sales of $4.27 billion. Nordstrom (JWN) - Get Report releases earnings after the markets close. On the economic calendar, weekly jobless claims are released at 8:30am Eastern, which are expected to fall by 4,000 to 265,000. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.