Stock Market News: Here's What's Killing the Retail Rally

Wall Street was mixed on Tuesday morning, consolidating Monday's huge gains. Market participants generally seem to remain optimistic about the prospects for the economy as many states and cities are setting timelines for reopening nonessential businesses.

Yet investors also adopted a somewhat cautious attitude, wanting to see more evidence of economic recovery before committing too much to a further stock market rebound. Just after 11 a.m. EDT today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was down 92 points to 24,505. However, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) was unchanged at 2,954, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rose 60 points to 9,295.

Retail stocks have been among the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and they largely posted solid gains on Monday in hopes that the chains will be able to reopen stores and get back to something closer to normal in the near future. Nevertheless, retailers didn't fare well on Tuesday morning. Much of the pessimism centered on the latest financial report from department store retailer Kohl's (NYSE: KSS), but there was a broader pattern that speaks to the longer-range prospects for the entire industry.