By Andria Cheng

Retail shares zigzagged Tuesday amid different readings on whether retailers' April same-store sales may show further signs of improvement and signal whether the worst may finally be behind them.

Most retailers report their sales results Thursday. Sales are expected to rise at least 1%, according to an estimate from the International Council of Shopping Centers. Pent-up demand, warmer weather and improved consumer confidence should help lead April sales to be the best monthly performance so far this year, some analysts said, adding companies may even raise their first-quarter profit forecasts.

Sounding a positive tone, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday the U.S. economy is bottoming out and is likely to turn upward later this year. The U.S. central bank has slashed its interest rate target to effectively zero.

Meanwhile, other analysts said any possible sales improvement in April was still driven by steep promotions that would cut into profit. They said consumers remained weak.

The S&P Retail Index (RLX) zigzagged in early trading and most recently rose 0.4% to 342.54.

Liz Claiborne Inc. (LIZ) shares rose 0.3% to $6.32. The clothing company named Thomas Johannes Grote, former president of Esprit, as chief of its Mexx unit worldwide. Grote will join the company Oct. 1 and report directly to Chief Executive William McComb. Tom Fitzgerald, interim head at Mexx, will head the Lucky Brand Jeans unit.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) said its Michigan Wal-Mart will start a pilot program to offer a 90-day supply of 300 generic drugs, each for $10, via free mail delivery.

Among the decliners, Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) shares fell 1.9%. Kohl's Corp. (KSS) led the gainers with a 3.7% increase.

In other industry-related news, Avon Products Inc. (AVP) shares fell 4.8% to $24. The world's largest direct seller of beauty products said that its first-quarter profit plunged 36% to $117.3 million, or 27 cents a share, from $184.7 million, or 43 cents, a year earlier. Revenue dropped 13% to $2.18 billion but would have risen 3% excluding the impact of currency translations. Analysts, on average, expected the company to earn 33 cents a share on revenue of $2.1 billion.

CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) shares rose 3% to $32.99. The drugstore chain said Tuesday that its first-quarter profit declined to $738.4 million, or 50 cents a share, from $745 million, or 51 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $23.4 billion from $21.3 billion. Excluding $107.5 million of intangible asset amortization, the company said it would have earned 55 cents a share. Analysts, on average, estimated the company to earn 53 cents a share, according to FactSet.

-By Andria Cheng; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com