Retail stocks sell off as investors fade the Fed's soft landing hopes
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The retail sector saw sharp drops on Thursday with the Federal Reserve's well-telegraphed decision to hike interest rates unleashing more concerns from investors on the impact of a recession on consumer spending.
Despite the talk from the Federal Reserve about a soft landing with interest rate increases now progressing, eight out of ten small business owners surveyed by CNBC said they expect a recession this year. The fear is that consumers will tighten as the macro pressures build.
Home improvement retailers Home Depot (NYSE:HD
-4.6%) and Lowe's (NYSE:LOW
-4.5%) were down solidly.
Discounters Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (NASDAQ:OLLI
-5.8%), Big Lots (NYSE:BIG
-4.5%), BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ
-4.8%), Costco (COST
-4.8%) and PriceSmart (PSMT
-4.1%) also moved lower.
Mall stocks like Lululemon (LULU
-5.8%), Dillard's (DDS
-5.5%), Nordstrom (JWN
-5.9%), Children's Place (PLCE
-5.4%), Carter's (CRI
-5.1%), Gap (GPS
-3.8%), Ross Stores (ROST
-3.5%), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO
-4.1%), Boot Barn (BOOT
-3.4%) and Citi Trends (CTRN
-5.2%) were also in retreat.
Retail bellwethers Walmart (WMT
-1.3%) and Target (TGT
-2.8%) were not immune to moves into negative territory.
Read about the complete breakdown of online retail stocks.