June rains, penny-pinching dampen retail sales

By Aarthi Sivaraman

NEW YORK (Reuters) - June sales fell for most U.S. retailers as the plunging job market and cool, rainy weather dampened interest in summer shopping for consumers, triggering concern about the back-to-school season.

But some retailers stuck to their forecasts, or even raised their outlooks after spending months trimming inventories and cutting costs.

This helped support some stocks. The Standard & Poor's Retailing Index .RLX was up 0.3 percent on Thursday morning, roughly in line with the broader S&P 500 .SPX.

Sales at stores open at least one year fell 4.9 percent overall, Thomson Reuters data showed. More than half of the retailers polled missed expectations, with teen apparel chains and department stores posting the steepest declines.

Among clothiers, Gap Inc (GPS.N), Limited Brands Inc (LTD.N), American Eagle Outfitters Inc (AEO.N) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF.N) all reported double-digit drops.

Department stores followed suit. Macy's Inc (M.N) reported a same-store sales decline of 8.9 percent, while higher-end chain Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) posted a 10 percent drop.

"We continue to have an exceptionally stressed consumer," said Craig Johnson, president of retail research firm Customer Growth Partners. "Almost across the board, there's evidence the green shoots are few if any among a very brown field."

The long recession, growing job losses and tight access to credit have forced shoppers to seek deep discounts and buy only essential items like groceries and toiletries.