Thursday, March 4, 2010

Market Rewards Retailers That Have Big Same-Store-Sales Beats

The Wall Street Journal

The stock market Thursday rewarded retailers that posted strong or unexpected same-store sales increases for February, and this time, even a modest beat was enough to spark a rally in the stocks.

Last month, only those companies that posted the very best results--or raised their guidance--saw any bounce in their shares. Confidence in the retail sector has improved as consumers have started spending again and as a turnaround begins, with sales of big-ticket and other items picking up in recent months.

Retailers now are beyond what appeared to be the toughest month in the first quarter, Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi wrote in a note to clients. Previews for the month suggested bad weather on the East Coast "would detract from the generally positive story" in the retail sector, he said, but Thursday results were mostly above consensus estimates as strong demand trends outweighed the impact of winter storms.

Link to full article: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100304-711458.html?mod=rss_Hot_Stocks