CHICAGO (AFX) -- Retail stocks, led by Dow component Home Depot shares, followed the broader markets during the entire session Tuesday, turning to the upside in early trading only to tumble in the last moments of the session.
The S&P Retail Index finished the session off nearly 1% at 454.35. In the last two weeks, the index has dipped 7%.
Leading index component decliners were shares of Home Depot , pressured by fears that rising interest rates and a slowing housing sector will hurt the retailer's bottom line.
Shares closed at $37.84, off 1.7%, or 65 cents. Since mid-March, Home Depot shares have dropped nearly 14%. The retailer will hold its annual meeting on Thursday.
Shares of rival Lowe's Cos. also fell, off 41 cents, to $59.41.
Shares of Wal-Mart Stories Inc. , another Dow component, managed to eke out a session gain, closing up 17 cents at $47.52.
Shares of CVS Corp. held on to some early gains, rising 2.2%, or 61 cents, to $28.76. Management of the nation's largest drug-store chain met with analysts and painted an upbeat picture of the sector, sending shares of CVS rivals higher as well.
Walgreen Co. , the No. 2 player, lost its upward momentum, finishing lower by 28 cents to $40.97. Longs Drug Stores stores dropped 2.7%, or $1.23, to $44.90. Rite Aid shares backtracked by 1.1%, or a nickel, to $4.35.
Shares of Gap Inc. fell a penny to close at $18.62. The casual-wear retailer said Monday that it will sell shoes, which have only recently arrived in the stores, online beginning this fall. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.