BOOT - Mall stocks lead down day for retail as profit warnings pile in

The mall sector is sliding after a soft earnings report from Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF -30.3%) sparked another round of selling by investors. The retailer set off a wave of worry after cutting its full-year guidance for sales and margins and posted a surprise quarterly loss as costs soared. "We are in an extremely inflationary period (where) everything from food to gas is costing more and we expect those pressures to weigh on consumer confidence," warned Chief Executive Fran Horowitz The warning on consumer spending followed reports last week from Walmart and Target that also indicated consumers may be tightening or trading down with their purchasing decisions. Goldman Sachs analyst Vickie Chang warned the sector is likely to suffer until the market gets clarity on when the Fed will stop hiking rates and take other steps to bring input costs and consumer prices lower. Decliners in Tuesday mid-day trading included

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Mall stocks lead down day for retail as profit warnings pile in