U.S. stocks are trading in red territory this morning after investors once again realized that OPEC could not seem to agree on any oil output targets.
Oil is back down to $48.14 a barrel, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 71 points to 17,718. The Nasdaq was sliding by 17 points to 4,934 and the S&P 500 fell by 2,091. The S&P Retail ETF added 2 cents to trade at $42.48.
L Brands Inc. stock is rising by more than 3 percent to $70.79 after the company reported its May sales, which were flat, but the company said sales would improve in June. May comparable sales, including e-commerce, were negatively impacted by about 2 points because of the later Memorial Day holiday. Excluding e-commerce, store comps dropped by 1 percent. Victoria’s Secret May comp sales dropped 1 percent from last year. L Brands expects June comps to be up low-single digits as the Sunday and Monday of the Memorial Day holiday will be counted as June.
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The Buckle Inc. reported May comp store sales dropped 11 percent for the month. Net sales decreased 10.4 percent to $67.4 million. Buckle said the sales were net of the impact of both rewards related to the new guest loyalty program that was launched on April. Investors didn’t seem too upset as the stock gained 12 cents to trade at $24.97.
Barington Capital Group is ramping up its fight with Chico’s FAS Inc. Barington, who owns 1.5 percent of Chico’s, sent a letter to the chairman of the board stating it has serious concerns about the company’s performance. The letter complained about the stock price having dropped more than its peers. It also said it was happy that new measures were under way to improve the company, but questioned the speed of the changes. Barington wants expenses to be cut, stock to be repurchased and growth at the Soma Intimate apparel brand to name a few of the requests. Chico’s stock is up 14 cents to $11.14, so maybe the letter is already working.
Johnson & Johnson is acquiring beauty products company Vogue International for $3.3 billion in cash. Vogue International sells hair and body care products under the labels OBX Brands, FX Line, Proganix and Maui Moisture brands. It is based in Clearwater, Fla., and is owned by founder Todd Christopher and private equity firm The Carlyle Group. The deal is expected to close during the third quarter of 2016. Johnson & Johnson stock gained 44 cents to sell at $113.31.