The three main indexes traded higher on Tuesday morning on positive news from the labor market. Job openings rose to 6.94 million in July from 6.82 million in June, the government reported.
Shares of Francesca's Holdings Corp. (FRAN, Financial) fell more than 30% on Tuesday morning after the company posted a first-quarter loss of 11 cents per share on $100.41 million in revenue, reflecting a 6.8% year-over-over decline. It beat revenue expectations by $1.07 million, but earnings were in line with estimates.
“First quarter results were generally in line with our expectations and we are starting to see signs of progress across several areas of our business," President and CEO Steve Lawrence said. "During the quarter, we saw sequential improvement in our non-apparel categories, with both footwear and accessories comping positively in the quarter.”
Gross profit, as a percent of net sales, decreased to 38.2% from 45.2% in the prior-year quarter due to a decrease in occupancy costs and merchandise margin.
Moreover, during the first quarter, the company repurchased 659,000 shares for $3.5 million.
Looking ahead to the second quarter, net sales are expected to be between $119 million and $122 million and diluted earnings per share are projected to range from 2 cents to 5 cents.
Gainers
- CenturyLink Inc. (CTL, Financial)
- United Rentals Inc. (URI, Financial)
- Macerich Co. (MAC, Financial)
- Red Hat Inc. (RHT, Financial)
Losers
- Micron Technology Inc. (MU, Financial)
- Seagate Technology PLC (STX, Financial)
- Celgene Corp. (CELG, Financial)
- Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX, Financial)
Global markets
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.079%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.27%, Germany's Dax fell 0.13% and Spain's IBEX 35 rose 0.14%.Ă‚
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.30%, India’s BSE Sensex lost 1.22%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 1.33% and China's Shanghai Composite slid 1.21%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
