Time for luxury stocks

After getting severely hit by the Japanese tragedies, the luxury sector is starting to stand on

its own again. In the meantime, UK stocks fell, halting the longest stretch of gains for the benchmark FTSE 100 Index in six months, as retailers declined.

The British market "appears to be struggling for direction as investors pause for breath," said Anthony Grech, London-based head of research at IG Index. "Encouragingly, there has been no mass selloff following a six-session winning streak."

Other mover on Thursday was French luxury goods company LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, which will continue to invest in Japan, a country that remains essential to the company's business, Chief Executive Bernard Arnault said Thursday.

Japan represents 9% of the company's annual sales. Speaking at the company's annual shareholder meeting, Arnault said business has been affected in eastern and northern Japan by the recent earthquake and tsunami. The pickup in luxury goods that marked 2010 has continued so far this year, and the champagne business has "exited the crisis," he said.

In US, shares of Tiffany & Co. opened at 61.60 on Thursday and were gaining by 0.30% the rest of the session.  Goldman Sachs analysts raised their price target on shares of Tiffany & Co. to $58.00. They now have a “sell” rating on the stock, while Zacks Investment Research analysts downgraded the jewellery´s shares from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating. They now have a $63.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts reiterated a “neutral” rating keeping a $62.00 price target on the stock.

Finally, Burberry has hired Nomura, the Japanese bank, this week to be one of its corporate brokers. Nomura will advise Burberry alongside Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The appointment will be a boost for Nomura which also advises Tesco and Invensys. Nomura’s team comprised of Ed Matthews, Ed Peel, Ed Boyce and Adam Wright. Burberry isn’t known for its corporate activity but winning such a prestigious account will be seen as a coup.