Almost two-thirds of stocks in the 103-member retail ETF are down this year, with 11 companies, including Macy’s Inc. and Whole Foods Market Inc., posting declines in excess of 40 percent. Since its July record, the retail ETF has seen $567 million in outflows. Meanwhile, short interest as a percentage of shares outstanding has nearly tripled during the period, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Markit Ltd.
Ahead of the most important sales season for these companies, enthusiasm among investors is fading, particularly after Macy’s and Nordstrom Inc. reported disappointing results last week. Retail sales have also slowed, rising an average of 0.2 percent in the year through October, compared with 0.4 percent in the same period of 2014.
“You don’t hear people liking discretionary as much anymore,” Stellakis said. “People are hanging on to a few winners, but other than that, there’s really nothing in retail that looks good.”