Wall Street extends losses
U.S. stocks are adding to their early loses in afternoon trading today. Among small caps, shares of retailer Kirkland’s Inc. (Nasdaq: KIRK) are falling on news of a drop in same-store sales, while wireless handset distributor InfoSonics Corp. (Nasdaq: IFON) reported a net loss due to sagging demand in Central America.
At 2:15 p.m. ET the Russell 2000 was down 11.34 points, or 1.36 percent, to 823.43. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 116.78 points, or 0.87 percent, to 13,246.09.
Shares of specialty retailer Kirkland’s Inc. are trading lower on news same-store sales fell 18.8%. Comparable same-store sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 declined 18.8%, the Jackson, Tenn.-based company said before the opening bell. Based on these sales results, Kirkland’s said it expects to report a loss slightly greater than its previous estimate of a net loss of $0.30 to $0.35 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Wall Street is projecting a loss of $0.25. Shares are down $0.66, or 13%, to $4.58.
The Knot, Inc. (Nasdaq: KNOT), a media and services company targeting couples planning on getting married, reported quarterly net income that fell short of expectations. The net income for the quarter ended March 31 was $1.6 million, or $0.05 per share, compared with $0.07 per share in the first quarter of 2006, the New York-based operator of the website www.theknot.com said after Wednesday’s close. The decline comes despite a 43% increase in net revenues, to $21 million from $14.8 million in the same period of 2006. Analysts were looking for earnings of $0.08 per share on revenues of $21.03 million. Shares have lost $3.41, or 15%, to $19.02.
Shares of wireless handset distributor InfoSonics Corp. are in negative territory following news the San Diego-based company loss money in the first quarter. The net loss for the first three months of 2007 was $0.56 million, or $0.04 per share, compared with a net income of $1.2 million, or $0.08 per share in the same quarter a year ago, InfoSonics reported after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company said a significant decline in handset demand in Central America more than offset growth in South America and the United States. The stock is trading at $3.37, down $0.55, or 14%.
In economic news, the price of oil is nearing $62 a barrel, an increase of twenty cents, on news of a decline in shipments through the North Sea and more violence in Nigeria, where rebels took four American oil workers hostage on Wednesday.
