The stock market is off to a good start this morning with all the major indices moving higher.
The S&P 500 is higher by 15 points to trade at 2,063, the Dow Jones industrial average is jumping by more than 200 points and the Nasdaq is up by 40 points to trade at 4,806. The S&P Retail ETF is dropping by 5 cents to sell at $40.82.
The stock buying was attributed to gains in crude oil prices and a rally in the European markets.
Barington Capital is launching a proxy fight over expenses at retailer Chico’s FAS. Barington owns 1.4 percent of Chico’s and has nominated two directors to the board at Chico’s. The activist investor believes Chico’s should reduce its substantial corporate overhead and significantly decrease its advertising and other SG&A expenses. Chico’s is opening higher by 1 percent to trade at $11.01.
Related Galleries
Chico’s also announced that it nominated Bonnie Brooks and Bill Simon to be nominated as independent directors on the board. David Dyer and Verna Gibson are retiring from the board.
DSW is plunging over 10 percent to $19.50 after the discount shoe chain reported a dramatic drop in net income and slashed its forward guidance. DSW reported that the net income for the quarter ending April 30 was $30 million. Adjusted net income was $32.8 million or earnings per share of 40 cents missing the FactSet estimate for 45 cents in earnings per share. Sales for the three months increased 3.9 percent to $681 million, but was still short of the FactSet estimate for sales of $700 million.
Kohl’s is getting a ton of free advertising after a mom picked up a Chewbacca mask in the clearance bin. Texas mom Candace Payne took a video of herself in the car with the mask and the result caused her to erupt in a fit of laughter. The charming video has gone viral and the mask is now sold out. The video has garnered 136.5 million views, beating out Buzzfeed’s blue and gold dress video. Payne had gone to the store to return a shirt and walked out with the mask and has now become a video celebrity. Kohl’s delivered a truckload of gifts and gift cards to the mom.