-- Consumer stocks were lower Tuesday afternoon, with the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) down 0.3% and the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) decreasing 0.2%.
In sector news, Redbook US same-store sales rose by 6.7% from a year earlier in the week ended April 18 after a 7% year-over-year increase in the previous week. "Some retailers reported weaker year-over-year Easter sales, facing challenging comparisons to last year's pre-Easter shopping week in April," Redbook noted. Sales of home improvement items and outdoor merchandise picked up as spring began while household basics, food and consumables held steady.
In corporate news, Tractor Supply (TSCO) reported Q1 results that missed Wall Street's projections amid a below-average performance of its companion animal product business. Its shares dropped past 10%.
D.R. Horton's (DHI) fiscal Q2 results came in better than expected, although the homebuilder tempered its full-year revenue outlook. Its shares rose past 7%.
Estee Lauder (EL) has hired JPMorgan (JPM) to come up with a financing package of about 5 billion euros ($5.88 billion) to fund its takeover of Puig, Spanish business newspaper Expansion reported Tuesday. Estee Lauder shares were down 1.4%.