Fifth Pacific and Joe’s Jeans dent Japanese momentum

Asian markets took the lead for second day in a row,

with the likes of Fast Retailing trading at full steam. The FashionUnited Top 100 Index, that gathers major quoted apparel companies, benefited from this momentum, closing at rise at 1444.42 points.

Japan’s Topix Index (TPX) jumped the most in eight weeks as the yen slumped after the Bank of Japan (8301) doubled monthly bond purchases in its first policy decision since Haruhiko Kuroda took over as governor, reported Bloomberg. “We’re getting a sea change in monetary policy and it’s happening fast, said Kazuyuki Terao, Tokyo-based chief investment officer at Allianz Global Investors Japan Co. ‘‘That was what markets had expected, but it’s still positive.”

In this context, the Japenese benchmark index climbed 2.7 percent to close at 1,037.76 in Tokyo, the biggest gain since Feb. 6. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average (NKY) added 2.2 percent to 12,634.54.

Meanwhile, in US, G-III Apparel Group Ltd.'s (GIII) saw its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 61 percent as the company's sales jumped and its profit margin widened.

Less lucky was Oxford Industries Inc.'s (OXM), which fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 25 percent as the apparel company recorded higher costs amid the expansion of the Tommy Bahama brand and fair-value impacts related to its acquisition of Lilly Pulitzer. The company gave downbeat earnings forecasts for the new fiscal year and current quarter.

Elsewhere, “Macy’s (M) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a buy with a ratings score of A+ . The company’s strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its growth in earnings per share, revenue growth, notable return on equity, attractive valuation levels and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had generally high debt management risk by most measures that we evaluated,” analysis team at TheStreet wrote in a note Wednesday.

Macy’s has a 52-week low of 32.31 dollars and a 52-week high of 42.89 dollars, with its 50-day moving average currently at 41.14 dollars.

At the bottom of the board, Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc. traded down at 19.3199 dollars, losing 3.6 percent in after-hours on 52520 shares traded. As highlighted by analysts, the stock is overbought.

Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc. is trading 14.86 percent above its 50 day moving average and 51.70 percent above its 200 day moving average. The apparel group’s stock is 2.77 percent above its 52-week high and 122.06 percent above its 52-week low. Market cap for the owner of brands such as Juicy Couture and Kate Spade stands at 2.23 billion dollars.

In the same way, Joe's Jeans Inc. closed lower, dropping 3.5 percent to a close of 1.65 dollars. 3,390 shares changed hands in after-hours trading. The stock is trading 17.85 percent above its 50 day moving average and 48.77 percent above its 200 day moving average. Shares price is currently 9.04 percent below its 52-week high and 113.75 percent above its 52-week low, prompting the company market cap to117.59 million dollars.