The unofficial end of summer was officially pretty good to retail stocks.
The S&P Retail Index rallied 1.3 percent, or 5.3 points, to 425.89 Friday, logging a 5 percent increase for the week. The pickup put retail stocks ahead 3.6 percent for the year after sitting 1.3 percent in the red the prior Friday.
It was a week of better-than-expecteds. Reports on manufacturing activity, August sales and employment all exceeded analysts’ expectations and offered some hope that the economic recovery would continue and not fade into a second recession.
Of the 171 stocks tracked by WWD, 147 perked up last week, while 5 remained flat and 19 fell. Among the top gainers for the week were American Apparel Inc., up 29 percent to $1.06; G-III Apparel Group Inc., 28 percent to $30; The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., 18.3 percent to $7.63, and Saks Inc., 16.9 percent to $8.11. G-III reported an unexpected profit and raised its guidance Wednesday, while Saks shares jumped on reports of a possible takeover effort.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2 percent, or 127.83 points, to 10,447.93 Friday, making for a 2.9 percent increase for the week. And it was a good week on the international scene, particularly Europe, where the FTSE 100 in London, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX in Frankfurt all gained more than 3 percent. Asian investors drove the Nikkei 225 ahead 1.4 percent in Tokyo last week as the Hang Seng Index advanced 1.8 percent in Hong Kong.