Abercrombie's stock turns lower in active trade, erasing earlier surge to 16-month high

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s stock pulled a sharp U-turn in active morning trade Wednesday, to trade down 1% after being up as much as 7.9% within minutes of the opening bell. The stock's initial jump, to a 16-month high in intraday trade, came after apparel retailer reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, and the first year-over-year rise in same-store sales since the quarter ended April 2012. On the conference call with analysts following results, Chief Financial Officer Joanne Crevoiserat said temporary closures of Hollister stores for remodeling, as well as the negative effects of a strengthening dollar, is expected to have "a disproportionate adverse impact" on same-store sales for the fiscal second quarter, according to a transcript of the call provided by FactSet. Volume in the stock about one hour after the open was 6.4 million shares, or more than double the full-day average over the past 30 days, according to FactSet. The stock was still up 14% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 2.1% and the S&P 500 has declined 5.2% over the same time.

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