Cantor Fitzgerald

Marc Pado Comments: US Stocks - Consumer Shares lift Wall St on Target

August 18, 2010, Reuters

* Target gives reassuring same-store sales forecast

* CBOE VIX down 3 pct but swings to continue: analyst

* Stocks up: Dow 0.4 pct, S&P 0.5 pct, Nasdaq 0.6 pct

Wall Street rose on Wednesday, led by gains in consumer stocks after a reassuring sales forecast from discounter Target Corp (TGT.N) fueled optimism about the retail industry.

The Target same-store sales forecast came a day after retail companies Wal-Mart Stores (WMT.N) and Home Depot (HD.N) reported higher-than-expected earnings.

Shares of Target gained 3 percent to $52.51 after the discounter forecast a continuous growth in same-store sales, signaling that it may even beat larger rival Wal-Mart.

"Deflation worries are what's been really pressuring the market. But the news from Target today, on top of Wal-Mart and Home Depot, is saying that we may not be in such a bad situation," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco.

The consumer discretionary sector .GSPD gained 1.3 percent, the biggest gainer among the S&P 500 sectors.

But volume continued to be low as economic uncertainty discouraged investors from adding to stock positions. With less than one hour left in trading, volume was about 1 billion shares below the year's lightest day so far.