The New York equities markets were lower at midday on Thurdsay. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5 percent to 12,678.89, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1 percent to 2,515.35 and the S&P 500 was 0.3 percent lower to 1,454.03.
Retailers declined on bad news. Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) dropped 2.1 percent to $80.29 after it said that the rising cost of paying its employees would likely diminish results for the first half of the year. Meanwhile, JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) fell 3.6 percent to $83.21 on a less than positive guidance.
Homebuilders were lower as well, after Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) said that profits were down sharply and that while it has seen an upturn in demand in some regions, it doesn’t expect the housing market to strengthen significantly through spring. The builder’s 67 percent decline in profits wasn’t as steep as some had expected, but the company’s stock still dropped 1.5 percent to $32.38. Elsewhere in the sector, DR Horton (NYSE: DRH) fell 2.1 percent to $27.50.
In the computer sector, Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ) dropped 1.7 percent to $40.42.
In the supermarkets sector, Whole Foods (NASDAQ: WFMI) added 11.8 percent to $51.10 after it said last night that it will acquire Wild Oats Markets (NASDAQ: OATS) for $565 million. Wild Oats added 17.3 percent to $18.44 on the news.