US Retail Stocks Rise On Mixed November Sales data

By William Spain

Retail stocks inched higher early Thursday, with the sector's main indicator gaining about 1% in the face of mixed November sales numbers.

The S&P Retail Index (RLX) was up 3 points at 412.41.

One winner: Limited Brands (LTD), which rose 2% to $18.11. The parent of Victoria's Secret reported that same-store sales--those at outlets open at least a year--rose 3% last month, a surprise considering that the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had been for a decline of 2.5%. Total sales were up to $781.1 million from $755.6 million.

Also trending positive was Kohl's (KSS), which gained about 3% to $55.17. The company posted a same-store sales rose of 3.3%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 1%. Total sales for the period rose 7.1%

On the downside was TJX Companies (TJX), which slipped about 4% to $36.88. The company reported that November same-store sales were up 8%, behind the Wall Street view of a 9% rise. Total sales for the 4 weeks ended Nov. 28, 2009, rose 15% to $1.8 billion.

Most numbers so far have coincided with initial holiday results suggesting that although some shoppers were lured in by early promotions and showed up at stores or online, higher traffic didn't generally translate to higher spending. But December could see a pop: Consumers reported an average 42.2% of their shopping completed through the end of November, compared with 48.3% last year, according to an International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs survey.

-By William Spain, 415-439-6400; [e-mail]