Sector Wrap: Jewelry retailers close lower

Shares of jewelry retailers closed mostly lower Friday, ending a week focused on softening U.S. consumer spending and a trademark court case.

Earlier this week, Citi Investment Research analyst Mark S. Mahaney warned that Blue Nile Inc.'s traffic has softened, according to data from online traffic research firm comScore Inc. Mahaney said the online jewelry retailer's cumulative unique visitors declined 17 percent in the second quarter, versus a year ago.

The company is scheduled to post quarterly results early in August.

Shares of Blue Nile declined 31 cents to finish Friday's session at $40.20. The stock has declined about 40 percent so far this year.

Meanwhile, Tiffany & Co. was defeated in a court case by online auctioneer eBay Inc. when a federal judge said companies like Tiffany are responsible for monitoring their trademarks online, not auction platforms like eBay.

Tiffany sued eBay several years ago, alleging that many items for sale on eBay were fake, even though they were listed as genuine.

Shares of Tiffany declined $1.18, or 2.9 percent, to finish at $39.64.

Elsewhere in the sector, shares of Zale Corp. declined 96 cents, or 4.7 percent, to close at $19.60. Bucking the trend, Signet Group PLC rose 33 cents, or 3.3 percent, to close at $10.35.