U.S. stocks were in negative territory on Wednesday morning after the U.S. trade deficit hit a record $891 billion. The deficit was $59.8 billion in December, according to the Census Bureau. Imports climbed 2.1% to $264.89 billion and exports declined 1.9% to $205.12 billion. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.21% to 25,752, the S&P 500 index slid 0.26% to 2,782 and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.37% to 7,549.
Shares of Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS, Financial) fell more than 10% on Wednesday morning after the company announced fourth-quarter results. Revenue declined 10.7% from the prior-year quarter to $524.7 million, beating expectations by $8.35 million. The retailer also posted a loss of 7 cents per share, which beat analysts’ estimates by 2 cents.
"We achieved sequential improvement in comparable sales in all three brands in the fourth quarter, and with work continuing across the company, we believe we are better positioned heading into the new fiscal year," President and CEO Shelley Broader said. "We are focused on driving sales, efficiencies and agility throughout the organization as we leverage our robust omnichannel capabilities.”
During the quarter, the gross margin reached $158.7 million, or 30.2% of net sales, compared to $221.6 million, or 37.7% of net sales, when compared to the prior-year quarter.
The company said it repurchased 8.6 million shares for $50.2 million, at a weighted average price of $5.81 per share.
Looking ahead to first-quarter 2019, Chico's expects a mid-to-high-single-digit decline in total net sales and consolidated comparable sales compared to the year-ago quarter. It also expects the gross margin as a percent of net sales to decline 300 to 400 basis points.
Gainers
- Aon PLC (AON, Financial)
- Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM, Financial)
- MGM Resorts International (MGM, Financial)
- LKQ Corp. (LKQ, Financial)
- Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN, Financial)
Losers
- Micron Technology Inc. (MU, Financial)
- Western Digital Corp. (WDC, Financial)
- General Electric Co. (GE)
- Hess Corp. (HES, Financial)
- Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT, Financial)
Global markets
The main European stock markets were mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.17%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.16%, Germany's Dax slid 0.28% and Spain's IBEX 35 rose 0.42%.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.60%, India’s BSE Sensex rose 0.53%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.26% and China's Shanghai Composite jumped 1.57%.
Disclosure: The author holds no positions in any stocks mentioned.
