U.S. stocks advanced on Tuesday morning ahead of the Federal Reserve´s meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded up 0.13% at 26,597, the S&P 500 index rose 0.11% at 2,922, while the Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 0.19% at 8,008.
Shares of Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA, Financial) jumped more than 14% on Tuesday morning after the company posted fourth quarter earnings per share of 7 cents on $1.76 billion in revenue, reflecting 6% year-over-year growth.
The gross margin increased to $1.015 billion, or 57.5% of sales, higher than the $951 million, or 57.4% of sales reported in the year-ago period. The gross margin rate rose 10 basis points, with Premium Fashion and Kids Fashion segments improving while Plus Fashion and Value Fashion segments declined.
Looking ahead at the fiscal 2019 year, the company expects non-GAAP earnings per share between zero and 10 cents, with net sales in the range of $6.45 billion to $6.55 billion. Gross margin rate is expected between 57.6% and 58.1% and operating income in the range of $120 million to $140 million.
Gainers
• CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF, Financial)
• Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. (HST, Financial)
• D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI, Financial)
• Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC, Financial)
Losers
• CenturyLink Inc. (CTL, Financial)
• American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL, Financial)
• Qorvo Inc. (QRVO, Financial)
• Analog Devices Inc. (ADI, Financial)
• General Electric Co. (GE, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets traded higher. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.64%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.03%, Germany's Dax jumped 0.16% and Spain's Ibex 35 fell 0.19%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.29%, India’s BSE Sensex jumped 0.96%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 1.62% and China's Shanghai Composite slid 0.58%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
