By Andria Cheng
Retail shares edged up Friday, after the Labor Department
reported March job losses that were close to expectations.
The S&P Retail Index (RLX) was off 0.5% at 309.07, as
American workers were hammered again in March with large job
losses, pushing the total number of jobs lost since the recession
began to 5.1 million, the Labor Department reported Friday.
January's revised job loss of 741,000 was the worst since 1949. In
February, 651,000 jobs were lost.
U.S. nonfarm payrolls fell by 663,000 in March, close to
expectations, while the unemployment rate jumped to 8.5%, also as
expected, from 8.1%. Payrolls in previous months were revised lower
by a total of 86,000.
Retail companies cut nearly 48,000 jobs.
Charming Shoppes Inc. (CHRS) shares jumped 15.4% to $2.10 after
it named turnaround specialist James Fogarty president and chief
executive.
J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) shares were up 1.5% to $22.20. The
department store company is launching Cindy Crawford Style, a home
furnishings and accessories line by the former supermodel turned
style expert. The collection, to be sold exclusively at Penney,
will debut in September.
Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. (PSUN) shares fell 1.2% to
$1.67. The company said that Adrenalina, which has expressed its
interest in acquiring the California teen clothing retailer, has
ended its proxy contest by withdrawing its nominations of four
candidates for election to the Pacific Sunwear board. The
withdrawal followed a meeting earlier this week between several of
Pacific Sunwear's independent directors and Ilia Lekach,
Adrenalina's chief executive, the company said.
UBS analyst Roxanne Meyer upped her price target on Aeropostale
Inc. (ARO) to $31 from $26. The teen clothing retailer deserves "a
slight premium" to its peer group based on its "industry leading
performance driven by strong product and value pricing," the
analyst said. Shares were off 0.3 to $28.05.
Under Armour Inc. (UA) shares fell 1.3%. The stock was cut to
negative from neutral by Susquehanna Financial Group's analyst
Christopher Svezia. He expects the company's sales and earnings to
remain "pressured" throughout this year "absent a true catalyst"
for its sales growth and given its continued investments in
marketing surrounding its running line launch, which he said has
gotten off to a slow start.
-Andria Cheng; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com