EmailThe consumer discretionary group is in-line with the broader market in early trade. The retail group is also in the green with the Retail HOLDRS Trust (RTH) 0.4% and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) 0.7%.
Other notable mentions: Leaders: CROX 3.3% (Crocs appoints Dale Bathum as chief product officer and names Mike DeBell as chief sales officer), DV 2.1% (comments on strategic growth opportunies and turnaround plan at BMO Conference: expects continued growth in Brazil and positive enrollment comparison at Carrington in Q1), HD 1.4% (closes seven big box stores in China; reaffirms FY12 EPS guidance ), AVP 2.2% (US officials say they do not plan to take action over probe into how AVP disclosed information to analysts, according to reports ), OMX 5.6% (confirms finalization of agreement to extinguish non-recourse Lehman-backed timber notes liability), SHLD 4.2% (has elected to contribute an additional $203 mln to its pension plan on Sept 14, 2012; the Plan will now be 80% funded under applicable law and now has the ability to offer lump-sum settlements to a portion of its participants), AEO 0.3% (following Barron's profiles positive view), DSW 0.4% (following Barron's profiles positive view), GET 0.9% (Gaylord Entertainment to transfer management of Radisson Hotel Opryland, General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Springs Golf Links, and Wildhorse Saloon to Marriott)... Laggards: RP -4% (announced the sale of 4 mln shares of its common stock by certain of its existing stockholders), KFT -0.7% (following news of removal from DJIA).
Analyst related: Upgrades: MMM 1.1% (upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill)... Downgrades: CBRL -2.1% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Keybanc), VIAB 0.2% (downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Evercore)... Misc: PLCE 1.9% (initiated with a Buy at Citigroup).
