US stocks mixed and expecting ahead elections

In a session heavily weighted not only by the aftermaths

of Hurricane Sandy yet also by the presidential elections night ahead, US traded apparel stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, weighting the FashionUnited Top 100 Index - international benchmark index for the apparel sector - by 3.86 percent. American Apparel and Gap were on front foot given their respective figures releases.

“October has historically been one of our strongest months based on the significant uptick in sales we experience for Halloween,” said Dov Charney, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of American Apparel, Inc. “So far in November retail sales are showing signs of strength and we anticipate this trend will continue. Online and wholesale both had a strong October, and I am confident our positive momentum will continue into the Holiday selling season,” Charney added.

The fashion staples retailer announced preliminary sales for the month ended October 31, 2012 and reported that total net sales on a preliminary basis increased 5 percent to 59.1 million dollars. With regards to the Hurricane Sandy, American Apparel estimates retail stores suffered an approximate 5 percent reduction in comparable sales from store closures.

Good news for its peer Gap, which October comparable sales rose 4 percent versus a 6 percent decline in the comparable prior-year period, stressed analysts at Zacks. Net sales in October summed to 1.22 billion dollars, up 7 percent from a year ago. The company also reported an improvement in third quarter comps and sales numbers. “Improvement in the quarter’s comps came from a 7 percent elevation in comps at Gap North America, a 6 percent comps growth at Banana Republic North America and a 9 percent comps augmentation at Old Navy North America; offset by a 3 percent comps decline in the International segment. Net sales came in at 3.86 billion dollars, an increase of 8 percent from 3.59 billion dollars reported in the year-ago quarter,” summarized at Zacks.