A&F & Sears positive surprise the market

Generally speaking, market analysts are not actually celebrating the

glimpse they already had on the second half of 2012. Market movers were A&F and Sears, that took analysts by surprise with better than expected figures and trading.

A round of economic data released Monday suggested consumers are cutting back their own spending, adding to broader concerns, highlighted Reuters. “The upside for stocks is limited going forward,” said Barry Knapp, chief market strategist at Barclays Capital, in a note to clients that meaningfully summarized all the gloom ahead.

As reported on CBS News, Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s shares jumped in trading Tuesday after analysts saw the teen retailer's business improving in Europe. Citi analyst Jeff Black, who has a "Buy" rating on its shares, more than doubled his first-quarter earnings estimates to 7 cents per share from 3 cents on the anticipated strength in Europe. In the same vein, UBS Investment Research analyst Roxanne Meyer upgraded her rating on the company's stock to "Buy" from "Neutral," given her perception of its earnings potential for 2012 and beyond. She also raised her price target on the company's stock to $66 from $51. Meyer also raised full-year estimates to $3.65 from $3.53 for 2012 and 2013 estimates to $4.70 from $4.66.

Shares of Abercrombie jumped $2.92, nearly 6 percent, to $53.09 in midday trading. Its shares have traded between $40.25 and $78.25 in the past 52 weeks, peaking in the first half of that period but showing much lower and rockier pricing after that.

Still in Wall Street, Sears will report its first-quarter results around May 17, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Shares of Sears were up 11.7 percent at $60.05 in early trading.