Soft Tech Open
Stocks on Thursday appeared headed for a
soft open, particularly in the tech patch. A raft of retailers came out with
same-store sales reports for the month of May.
Wal-Mart Stores
(
WMT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) Thursday said
same-store sales rose 3.8% in May while total sales for the four weeks ended
June 1 increased 12.5% to $16.44 billion.
Costco Wholesale Thursday said
same-store sales rose 6% in May while total sales in the four weeks ended June 3
climbed 14%.
Intimate Brands
(
IBI |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) said
same-store sales fell 7% in May. The owner of Victoria’s Secret said
total sales for the four weeks ended June 3 fell 4.6%.
Department store operator Bon-Ton
Stores
(
BONT |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) reported same-store sales dropped 10%. The company also
lowered its estimate for the fiscal second quarter to a net loss of 18 cents to
20 cents per share from a net loss of 12 cents to 15 cents.
Car battery maker Exide Technologies
(
EX |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
said it expects a Q1 loss in the range of 39 cents to 44 cents per diluted share
vs. First Call’s consensus estimate of 18 cents per share.
Youth apparel retailer Abercrombie
& Fitch
(
ANF |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) same-store sales fell 2% in May while total sales rose 2%.
Overnight, Broadcom
(
BRCM |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating) warned
expects would decrease 32% to 35%Â in the first quarter, well of
expectations, because of `”continued weakness in the technology sector.”Â
A jury awarded a smoker with incurable
lung and brain cancer $3 billion in his lawsuit against Philip Morris
(
MO |
Quote |
Chart |
News |
PowerRating)
after Thursday’s close. The jury ruled that Philip Morris failed to warn him of
the risks of smoking.
Remember that all stocks are
speculative. On any new trade, be sure to limit your position size and set a
protective price stop where you will sell your buy or cover your short to
protect yourself against severe losses. For an introduction to combining price
stops with position sizing, see Loren Fleckenstein’s lesson, Risky
Business.