Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Thursday 7 sepTember 2017 BUSINESS
A24

Energy firms lead modest rebound for US markets Selling with the

enemy? Kohl’s
By ALEX VEIGA tors.” ment and increase the na- rebounded modestly. The
AP Business Writer The Standard & Poor’s 500 tion’s debt limit for three yield on the 10-year Trea- to open in-store
Energy companies led U.S. index rose 7.69 points, or 0.3 months helped lift the mar- sury note rose to 2.10 per- Amazon shops
stocks to modest gains percent, to 2,465.54. The ket. cent from 2.06 percent late
Wednesday as the market Dow Jones industrial aver- “It reassured the mar- Tuesday.
recouped some of its hefty age added 54.33 points, or ket that Washington is on Gold, which climbed Tues- By JOSEPH PISANI
losses from the day before. 0.3 percent, to 21,807.64. board with stabilizing its day to the highest level AP Business Writer
Big retailers and health The Nasdaq composite financial responsibilities,” in more than a year, fell NEW YORK (AP) — Ama-
care companies also gained 17.74 points, or 0.3 Bell said. $5.50 to $1,339 an ounce zon has long been blamed
Wednesday. for the falling fortunes of
Rising oil prices helped department stores. Now,
boost energy stocks. Hel- some of them are teaming
merich & Payne rose $2.58, up with the e-commerce
or 5.9 percent, to $46.35. giant.Kohl’s said Wednes-
Marathon Oil added 44 day that it will open Ama-
cents, or 3.9 percent, to zon shops in 10 of its de-
$11.73. partment stores that will
All told, benchmark U.S. sell Amazon Echos, Fire
crude gained 50 cents, tablets and other gadgets.
or 1 percent, to settle at The deal comes just a few
$49.16 a barrel on the New months after the owner
York Mercantile Exchange. of Sears and Kmart said
Brent crude, used to price it would sell its Kenmore-
international oils, rose 82 branded appliances on
cents, or 1.5 percent, to Amazon.com for the first
$54.20 a barrel in London. time.The partnership gives
Investors also bid up shares Kohl’s a way to differen-
in several big retailers. tiate itself from rival de-
Gap shares surged 7.4 partment stores and lure
percent after the apparel in shoppers looking to buy
retailer said it will shift its electronics. For Amazon, it
focus to its growing brands gets its devices in front of
Old Navy and Athleta, and more people to touch and
Trader Gregory Rowe, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Energy compa- away from the Gap and try them.“It is a smart move
nies led U.S. stocks to modest gains Wednesday as the market recouped some of its hefty losses
from the day before. Banana Republic. for both companies,” ana-
(AP Photo/Richard Drew) The company said that it will lysts at Jeffries said. “They
close about 200 Gap and always say you should
helped lift the market, percent, to 6,393.31. The Tuesday’s market jitters Banana Republic stores in keep your enemies closer.”
which was coming off its Russell 2000 index of small- over the heated rhetoric the next three years and Department stores have
worst day in almost three er-company stocks picked between the U.S. and North open about 270 Old Navy struggled as more people
weeks. Utilities and phone up 2 points, or 0.2 percent, Korea appeared to ease and Athleta stores during shop online or at discount
companies were the big- to 1,402.20. somewhat on Wednesday, the same period. The stock stores. Kohl’s, Macy’s and
gest laggards. Some travel The stock indexes are on even as investors moni- added $1.79 to $25.82. Dillard’s all reported a drop
booking companies and pace to end the week low- tored Hurricane Irma. The Macy’s shares also got a in a key sales figure last
airlines also fell. er, but are holding on to mammoth storm, which boost, adding $1.16, or 5.5 month for their latest quar-
“It’s a little bit of a rebound gains for the year. The S&P made its first landfall in the percent, to $22.17. ters.But despite the growth
from the sort of dramatic 500 and Dow are both up islands of the northeast Ca- Kohl’s climbed 4.9 percent of online shopping, most
day yesterday after ev- just over 10 percent. The ribbean early Wednesday, after the department store retail transactions still take
erybody got back from Nasdaq is up 18.8 percent, seemed almost certain chain said it will open Ama- place in physical stores —
the long holiday weekend while the Russell 2000 has to hit the United States by zon shops in 10 of its stores. and Seattle-based Ama-
at the end of the summer gained 3.3 percent. early next week. Kohl’s shares gained $1.98 zon.com Inc. doesn’t seem
and refocused on the The market veered higher A day after spiking more to $42.37. to want to miss out. It has
market,” said Lindsey Bell, from the start of regular than 20 percent, the VIX, The fallout from Hurricane opened 11 bookstores in
investment strategist at trading Wednesday and a measure of how much Harvey, which slammed two years and recently
CFRA Research. “We’ve held its course through volatility investors expect in the Gulf Coast of Texas bought grocer Whole
seen that through the past much of the day. News stocks, fell nearly 5 percent last month, forced New- Foods, allowing it to sell
year, any time we’ve had that President Donald on Wednesday. ell Brands to cut its profit the Amazon Echo voice-
some sort of dip, it’s a buy- Trump has agreed to a And bond yields, which forecast, sending its shares activated device next to
ing opportunity for inves- plan to fund the govern- fell sharply a day earlier, lower Wednesday. q organic grapes and corn
Gap to shift focus to Old Navy, Athleta stores in its more than 460 stores.
Kohl’s said it will open the
1,000-square-foot Amazon
By JOSEPH PISANI Gap and Banana Repub- The San Francisco-based ter taking advantage of its areas next month within its
ANNE D’INNOCENZIO lic stores in the next three company says Old Navy is scale. Chicago and Los Angeles
AP Business Writers years and open about 270 on track to surpass $10 bil- “We continue to move with stores. The companies did
NEW YORK (AP) — Gap Inc. Old Navy and Athleta lo- lion in sales in the next few the customer and meet not provide financial de-
plans to shift its focus to its cations during the same years. And Athleta, which them where they are,” tails of the deal, but said
growing Old Navy and Ath- period.Lower-priced Old sells athletic clothing, is ex- Gap CEO Art Peck told the new sections will be
leta stores, and away from Navy has been a bright pected to exceed $1 billion analysts Wednesday at a staffed by Amazon em-
the Gap and Banana Re- spot for the clothing retail- in sales. The company ex- Goldman Sachs Global An- ployees. Shoppers will be
public brands. er, posting rising sales even pects to reap about $500 nual Retailing conference able to hire a plumber or
The company said Wednes- as they fell at the Gap and million in savings over the that was broadcast over housekeeper through Am-
day it will close about 200 Banana Republic. next three years by bet- the internet. q azon. q