Consumer Companies Higher; McDonald's, Jimmy Choo, Barnes & Noble Rise -- Consumer Roundup

Shares of retailers and other consumer-services companies rose as some companies whose growth had stalled revived investors' interest.

McDonald's shares rallied after the chain said a drinks promotion and a new line of hamburgers helped reverse a sales slump in the U.S.

Shares of Jimmy Choo rallied after luxury clothes-and-accessories retailer Michael Kors agreed to buy the fashionable London shoe store for about $1.2 billion.

Barnes & Noble shares rallied after the largest publicly traded bookstore said it is open to a hedge fund's demand that the country's largest publicly traded bookstore chain hire an investment banker and put itself up for sale.

One brokerage said a slowdown in used-home sales was more of a function of supply than demand. "While the fundamentals for underlying demand remained firm (such as job creation and income gains), the supply of previously-owned homes remained lean, possibly weighing down contract closings in June," said analysts at brokerage Nomura Securities, in a research note. "Without a subsequent pickup in supply, house prices are likely to continue to outpace wage gains over the medium term, exacerbating affordability for home buyers."

The Conference Board on Tuesday said its index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 121.1 in July from a revised 117.3 in June.

Rob Curran, rob.curan@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2017 17:42 ET (21:42 GMT)