Nordstrom holiday profit and sales disappoint, shares fall 6%

Nordstrom Inc. reported profit and sales for the holiday quarter that lagged analysts' expectations Thursday, and shares fell more than 6%. The retail chain said it earned net income of $180 million, or $1 a share, on total sales of $4.14 billion; analysts surveyed by FactSet, on average, expected profit of $1.20 a share on sales of $4.22 billion. The company's forecast also held bad news for investors, as Nordstrom said earnings will fall about 30% in the first half of the year partly due to expansion costs and the sale of its credit-card portfolio. The company's forecast for full-year 2016 earnings was a range of $3.10 a share to $3.35 a share, while FactSet's analyst survey predicted $3.58 a share. Shares fell to less than $49.50 in late trading Thursday after closing with a 0.9% gain at $52.70.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.