Retail Stocks Slide As CEOs Fail To Persuade Skeptical Investors That Outlook Is Rosy

Executives at most of the major retailers were confident in recent third-quarter earnings calls that shoppers will show up at stores and online in full force this holiday season. But skeptical investors were unconvinced and sold off their shares en masse Tuesday. Shares of Target tanked more than 10.5 percent Tuesday on the heels of its earnings report, as Kohl’s stock tumbled 9.2 percent, Ross Stores fell 9.4 percent, and Lowe’s fell nearly 6 percent. Their lackluster earnings reports also drove the shares of other companies such as Under Armour, Tapestry and Home Depot into the red. Best Buy was the one major retailer that saw its shares climb for the day, closing up more than 2 percent, after its quarterly earnings and sales topped Street expectations. The electronics retailer’s stock stumbled by nearly 2 percent earlier in the day, falling with much of the companies included in the S&P 500 Retail ETF. The index of retail stocks fell 3.3 percent Tuesday and 11.4 percent over the last eight trading days. Read more at CNBC.