J.C. Penney gains as investor Bill Ackman quits board By Barbara Kollmeyer and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock-index futures reduced Tuesday gains after the Commerce Department reported retail sales rose 0.2% in July, with the gain slightly less than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a 0.3% rise in retail sales last month. But sales for the prior month were revised from a 0.4% gain to 0.6%. Separately, the Labor Department reported prices for U.S. imports rose 0.2% in July, less than the 0.8% rise forecast by economists polled by MarketWatch. Up nearly 40 points before the report, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJU3 +0.16% were lately up 29 points, or 0.2%, at 15,416. S&P 500 index futures SPU3 +0.20% rose 2.5 points, or 0.1%, to 1,689.50. Nasdaq 100 futures NDU3 +0.09% rose 3.75 points, or 0.1%, to 3,127.50. The National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index rose 0.6 point to 94.1, still a half-point below the December 2007 reading, when the U.S. entered recession. Also on the calendar: a speech from Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart at 12:45 p.m. Eastern. J.C. Penney Co. JCP -3.65% rose 1.4% after news that shareholder Bill Ackman has resigned from the retailer’s board. The company reaffirmed overwhelming support for Chief Executive Myron E. “Mike� Ullman III and for Chairman Thomas Engibous. The company said Ronald W. Tysoe, who spent 16 years as vice chairman at Federated Department Stores Inc., now Macy’s Inc. M -0.29% , has been elected to the board effective Tuesday. Read: Where now for J.C. Penney Drama after Ackman’s exit? Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. AVNR +3.98% rose 9.3% after the biotech group announced an exclusive deal to market Merck & Co.’s MRK +0.21% Januvia diabetes drug in long-term-care institutional settings. Yum Brands Inc. YUM -2.61% fell 3.3% after the company said it expects a 13% drop in July same-store sales in China on Monday. Shares of Sina Corp. SINA +3.73% rose 6.5% after the Chinese online media group’s results late Monday surpassed Wall Street estimates. Wall Street stocks finished a low-volume session on Monday with slight losses, though the Nasdaq Composite COMP -0.09% closed higher. The S&P 500 SPX -0.05% eased 1.95 points, or 0.1%, to 1,689.47, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.17% dipped 5.83 points, or 0.04%, to end at 15,419.68. The Nasdaq Composite COMP -0.09% scored a gain of 9.84 points, or 0.3%, to 3,669.95 on Monday, driven by nearly a 3% lift for Apple Inc. AAPL +0.82% after a report during the weekend said that the company’s next iPhone will debut in September. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average JP:NIK +2.57% surged as the yen weakened and the Nikkei newspaper reported that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may propose a corporate tax cut if he goes ahead with a planned increase in the consumption tax. Other Asian indexes gained more than 1%. European stocks gained after data showed the German ZEW investor-sentiment indicator jumping to a five-month high in August. In other markets, gold futures slipped after a $22 climb a day earlier, with dollar strength proving a headwind. Oil prices edged higher ahead of an inventory report. Read also: End of QE could mean liftoff for stocks: Wells Capital. Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Follow her on Twitter @MWBarbaraKollmeyer. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York. Follow her on Twitter @MWKateGibson.

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