American stocks steal the show

With European economies more focused on the coming new banking regulation than in any other

aspect of trade, market focus shifted to American stocks. Polo Ralph Lauren, Pacific Sunwear of California and American Eagle Outfitters were the preferred stocks to buy.

In a mixed session for fashion stocks, the FashionUnited Top 100 Index closed up at 1,212.94 thanks to a rise of 13.96 points.  The stock market mounted an early advance that took it from a narrow loss to a gain of more than 1% in the early going. The financial sector's bounce was backed by diversified banks and financial services stocks, which rallied after suffering aggressive selling in recent sessions. Financials ultimately finished the day with a 2.8% gain.

In Wall Street, Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc. was down -30.88%. Their market cap is 99.44M and according to TheStockMarketWatch.com is one of the values to closely follow this week. They also recommend keeping an eye on American Eagle Outfitters, currently down -10.76%.

In the meantime, Ralph Lauren Corp is hanging tough in the weak market, recently rebound from a key trend line to push shares back into elevated territory. With a Q2 earnings surprise of 15% and bullish projection, this Zacks #1 Rank stock is a fashionable take on momentum.

Nike Inc. shares were at 83.59 at the end of the last day’s trading. There’s been a -5.2% change in the stock price over the past 3 months. According to Traders Huddle, “there is not a clear entry point for NIKE, as the stock is well above support, however, as the stock pulls back towards $78.50 it will definitely provide a reference point to establish a trade. On the other hand if the stock decides to break above resistance level at $85.53 then traders will get an opportunity to enter NIKE stock by establishing a position as the stock moves to a higher range.”

Finally, SmarTrend currently has shares of Tiffany & Co in an Downtrend and issued the Downtrend alert on August 02, 2011 at $76.52. The stock has fallen 18% since the Downtrend alert was issued.

Elsewhere, Italian couturier Brioni said Wednesday it was closing down its women's line and ending its contract with designer Alessandro Dell'Acqua to concentrate on its men's collection.

"The decision was necessary to re-focus resources on the menswear business, which has recently become more competitive and global," said the luxury label.The announcement comes after a month of rumors that Brioni was planning to close down its women's line under pressure from luxury conglomerate PPR, which is in talks to buy the brand. In its statement, the label denied the move had "any link" with the rumours.