Gains In Retail Sales Lift Markets To Higher Open
On the upside
Fourth quarter results for PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM) topped analyst estimates and the company forecast upbeat full year results.
Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) impressed with a strong same store sales growth of 5% in February.
Suntech (NYSE: STP) reversed year ago losses to post a greater than expected profit for the fourth quarter as revenue rose.
On the downside
Ciena (NYSE: CT) blamed order delays and pending acquisition costs for widening first quarter losses.
Wendy's/Arby's Group (NYSE: WEN) narrowed fourth quarter losses but same store sales dropped and the fast food chain expects to spend more to increase its customer base.
Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) reported a wider than expected drop in February same store sales.
In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks added 2 points to 652.
