Cost Plus Inc, (CPWM: chart), retailer, reported Q4 net profit dropped 8.5% to 97 cents a share despite 7% net sales growth. Same-store sales dropped 2.1%. The company missed analysts’ views by a penny.


8:00AM Asian markets closed mixed. The Nikkei slipped 1.4%.
Asian-Pacific benchmarks ended Thursday session mixed, reflecting interest-rate concerns and a key earnings report from China Mobile. The Nikkei opened higher on exporter issues, boosted by stronger dollar, but eventually tumbled 1.4% to 16,096.21 as investors worries about higher Japanese interest rates dragged real estate and bank stocks, including Sumitomo Realty and Development, down 6.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slightly advanced to 0.06% on optimism about strong corporate results. Taiwan Weighted index fell 0.2% on profit-taking in the tech sector. Australia All Ordinaries climbed 0.6% on resources and building-materials issues.

European markets traded lower at mid-day, erasing early gains. A strong performance from supermarket group Casino Guichard and steelmaker Corus Croup failed to keep stocks in the positive as oil, healthcare and insurance stocks exerted strong pressure. The German DAX 30 declined 0.3%, the French CAC 40 fell 0.3%, and London FTSE 100 lost 0.2%.