The stock market was expected to open higher Tuesday, although another major retailer, Best Buy (BBY), was coming under pressure following an earnings report.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 were up 0.5% each, while the Dow Jones industrial average showed a 0.6% increase.
Electronics retailer Best Buy reported Q1 results above expectations, with an adjusted profit of 44 cents a share and sales of $8.44 billion. Analysts expected diluted EPS of 35 cents a share and revenue of $8.29 billion.
But shares fell 4.5% in premarket trading as the company announced that Sharon McCollam, Best Buy's chief administrative and chief financial officer, will be stepping down in June. Management's Q2 guidance also was soft, and McCollam noted in the earnings release that "we are expecting slight declines in revenue in the first half, followed by growth in the back half" of the fiscal year.
The stock is forming a cup-with-handle base with a 35.05 buy point.
Adding to retail's woes, AutoZone (AZO) fell more than 1% ahead of the open after the auto parts chain missed profit and sales expectations. "Sales were below our expectations as weather negatively impacted sales" in the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions, the company said.
Netflix (NFLX) was up 1.3% ahead of the bell. UBS made bullish comments Monday about the company's growth in Europe. The stock has been shaping an undefined pattern.
Microsoft (MSFT) rose 1% after Cowen upgraded the software firm to outperform from market perform. Cowen sees growth in key businesses such as the Office suite and cloud-based sales, CNBC reported.
Homebuilder Toll Bros. (TOL) climbed 4% after it beat profit and sales estimates for the April-ended quarter. Toll also set a fresh $20 million stock buyback. The stock has been in a prolonged slump.
In Europe, the CAC 40 was up 1.7% in Paris, the German DAX rose 1.5%, and the London's FTSE 100 added 1%. But in Asia, the Nikkei average closed 0.9% lower and the Shanghai composite fell 0.8%. The Shenzhen composite also lost 0.9%. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong edged up 0.1%.
