After the close today, we get earnings reports from two US clothing retailers.
1) The Gap
GAP daily
I like The Gap as a good barometer of the consumer right now. It has three brands: Old Navy, The Gap and Banana Republic to cater to low, middle and higher end consumers. They should have some visibility on spending. Clothes are also particularly sensitive to economic downturns and vice versa.
2) Ross Stores
ROST daily
Ross Dress for Less is a discount clothing retailer and might be more candid. They sell brand name clothing and home goods as a chain store, similar to TJX, which has been on a monster run and reported strong earnings this week. The chart also looks great.
Both report after the bell.
