Fossil shines and Aeropostale rise alarms

Fossil Inc.'s earnings rose 24 percent during the first-quarter,

partly due to a gain from a joint venture, while the fashion-accessories retailer's sales continued to improve, as explained the company on Tuesday.

Following the just released figures, Fossil has raised its full-year earnings estimate to a range of 6 to 6.26 dollars a share from its February forecast of 5.85 to 6.15 dollars a share and backed its 2013 sales guidance. Fossil also estimated current-quarter earnings at 89 cents to 94 cents a share on a sales increase of 8 percent to 9 percent, while analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect 1.05 a share on 10 percent revenue growth.

Elsewhere, Wells Fargo transferred coverage on Aeropostale, Inc. (NYSE: ARO) and maintained a ‘Market Perform’ rating, with a price target of 12-13 dollars per share.

"We believe ARO is suffering from an identity crisis as it attempts to redefine itself as a fashion retailer instead of a provider of apparel basics. Against a backdrop of still high sales/squared foot, comps are likely to remain pressured as core basic-seeking customers are alienated by increased fashion in the stores and new customers fail to recognize the brand as a fashion destination," summarised analysts at Wells Fargo their sentiment towards the stock.

In Europe, German manufacturing orders for March rose 2.2 percent, compared with expectations of a 0.5 percent decline. Germany's DAX 30 index climbed 0.8 percent, on track to close at an all-time high. The Stoxx Europe 600, meantime, gained 0.2 percent to the highest level since June 2008.

Within the Asian markets, Esprit Holdings Ltd. said Tuesday that it expects to write down up to 2 billion Hong Kong dollars (258 million dollars) worth of the brand value at its China operations, which it bought out in 2011. In the same vein, they warned that this –as well as other provisions linked to the closure of unprofitable stores and unsold inventory worth up to 760 million Hong Kong dollars, will lead to a "substantial loss" for the company in the second half of the fiscal year ending June 30, adding to losses in its fiscal first half.