Retail Sales Sluggish In July

Early readings of the Thomson Reuters retail sales index showed that same-store sales were up 4.1 percent in July.

Expectations overall were for 4.2 percent growth versus a 3.3 percent increase from a year ago.

Earlier, Costco COST posted a smaller-than-expected increase in July sales, offsetting the strong results from apparel and other retailers. The results by Costco were the first miss in five months.

Gap Stores GPS is set to report after the close, with an expected rise of just 0.1 percent.

Retailers have been fighting slowing growth and lessened store traffic, with shopper visits falling almost five percent in July, according to ShopperTrak.

On a brighter note, retailer Buckle BKE said sales moved up 0.5 percent, slightly beating analysts estimates of zero growth.