European uncertainty clouds luxury stocks

European stocks declined for a second straight day as Greek talks

on measures needed to get a second bailout continued and China said industrial-output growth is likely to slow. Cloudy session for LVMH, Swatch, Burberry and Hermés.  

Swatch declined 4.2 percent to 397.40 Swiss francs after reporting 2011 operating profit of 1.61 billion francs ($1.75 billion), missing the average projection in a Bloomberg survey of 1.67 billion francs. Cie. Financiere Richemont SA, the owner of the Cartier brand, fell 2.6 percent to 53.85 francs.

Therefore, European luxury shares fell, headed by Burberry Group Plc (BRBY), which lost 2.2 percent to 1,414 pence and Christian Dior SA (CDI) slid 3.2 percent to 110.75 euros. Hermes International SCA, the French maker of Birkin bags and silk scarves, dropped 3.1 percent to 268.30 euros. It was also a tough session for LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC) as it lost 3 percent after three Bulgari directors sold a 558 million-euro ($733 million) stake.

Meanwhile, American Apparel (AMEX:APP) shares jumped up 12% after the company says total January sales spiked up 14% to $41 million while same-store sales rose 15%. The better than expected report marks the fourth-straight month of improvement for the clothing retailer.

Elsewhere, Collective Brands (NYSE:PSS) announced that it will open 16 Payless ShoeSource stores in South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. This deal is under two new franchise agreements with Shinsegae Group’s Emart unit and Central Marketing Group, which is a unit of Central Group in Bangkok. The number of stores will raise the number of countries with franchised Payless stores to 20.

Finally, Fossil announced Tuesday that its earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011 ended December 31, 2011 will be released prior to the market opening on Tuesday, February 14, 2012.