After 3 days of declines, the major indices finally stopped dropping, and it's no surprise that the decline stopped on a day when announcements of major secondaries was very light.
There are still a few more secondaries coming, however--we are waiting for Energizer Holdings(ENR--yes the battery company) to price 9.5 million shares, possibly after the bell, which would raise about $500 million. The stock has dropped about 10 percent since the announcement of the deal on Monday.
Elsewhere, retailers continue to report. Nordstrom will report after the bell.
Traders note that Nordstrom is the opposite of Wal-Mart - they have big exposure to an economic rebound, especially in California and the Northwest. if the economy turns and the market rallies Nordstrom will rally - even though it has already rallied from $12 to $20 in 2 months.
JC Penney is also tomorrow, they were the worst hit of the department stores through inventory mismangement and the failed product launch of American Living. They had signficant margin deterioration and still have pension issues.
The stock doubled this quarter as management masively lowballed first quarter expectations and raised guidance twice.
The report should prove anticlimatic as the Street needs comp store growth, not expense tightening to take stocks higher from current levels.
Indeed, that's what all the retailers need: comp store growth: comp store growth. The era of moving up on belt tightening alone is over.
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