Less than 5% from its all-time high, the S&P 500 Index (^GSPC -0.43%) rose 2.25 points, or 0.15% today, to close at 1,494. Before January has even ended, the benchmark index is up nearly 5% for the year already. Despite the run-up, many stocks have enjoyed thus far, not every company is thriving, and today's three big S&P losers exemplify that fact rather well.
While luxury retail has had a nice run in the past few years, Coach's (TPR -1.62%) performance today shows that investors are worrying about the future growth in that market. Not only did quarterly results fall below expectations, but the numbers revealed a far graver trend at work: comparable store sales fell, and the U.S. market began to look more saturated than previously thought. This is a double whammy for Coach, which will need to grow sales in its current stores before building a bunch of unproven new ones.
The second big loser of the day shows just how quickly sentiment can turn on Wall Street. Seagate Technology (STX) and its 3.4% decline made headlines today, just a day after the stock was one of the market's best performers, rising 7.1%. The disk drive maker reports quarterly results Monday, and investors are gauging what those will look like. Competitor Western Digital announced its own earnings after hours today, giving a better idea about what to expect from Seagate next week.
Mining company Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 0.33%), which has twice been downgraded since December, fell 3.2% today to round out the list of laggards. While there wasn't any major news from Cliffs, the business' overreliance on just a handful of customers for the bulk of its business is disconcerting, and is one of a few different things to watch for when Cliffs reports its quarterly results on Feb. 11.
