PSMT - Investors eye possible downturn in consumer discretionary spending

Investors are pricing in the impact of inflation on pockets of consumer discretionary spending after the consumer price report showed inflation at 7.9% for February. Discounters Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (OLLI -3.8%), Big Lots (BIG -5.2%), Tuesday Morning (TUES), Dollar Tree (DLTR -1.3%), BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ -2.0%) and PriceSmart (PSMT -0.4%) all fell in early trading on Thursday. Department store stocks Dillard's (DDS -3.2%) and Kohl's (KSS -0.3%) traded down, as well as some mall stocks like Gap (GPS -0.7%), Lululemon (LULU -0.8%) and J. Jill (JILL -0.1%). Specialty retailers Kirkland's (KIRK -9.1%), Honest Company (HNST -2.1%) and Best Buy (BBY -1.8%) were also notably lower. Target (NYSE:TGT) -1.65% and Costco (NASDAQ:COST) -0.67% were also lower, but Walmart (NYSE:WMT) bucked the trend with a 1.22% gain in the early going. "With the current spike in oil prices not reflected in the February CPI, further/renewed acceleration next month seems all but guaranteed," noted Bankrate.com chief financial

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Investors eye possible downturn in consumer discretionary spending