Consumers give stores some relief but still spend cautiously

Wal-Mart, which is rolling out more discounts, reported a 3.2 percent gain in same-store sales. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a 2.1 percent gain. Including fuel, same-store sales climbed 3.8 percent.

The world's largest retailer said business was helped by strong sales in grocery and health items as well as entertainment products like flat-panel TVs, video games and game consoles. The company said apparel sales continued to recover, despite cold weather, but home furnishings sales were weak.

Costco reported an 8 percent increase in same-store sales, surpassing the 6.1 percent estimate.

Limited Brands reported a 5 percent drop in same-store sales, worse than the 2.3 percent analysts forecast.

Gap Inc suffered a 6 percent drop in same-store sales, worse than the 1.9 percent analysts anticipated.

Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. posted a 4 percent increase in same-store sales, below the 5.6 percent estimate.