By Martinne Geller
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Key retail stocks were indicated to fall on Monday as investors feared that strong sales during the year's first holiday shopping weekend could sap profits and would not save a bleak season.
Discounters Wal-Mart Stores Inc and BJ's Wholesale Club Inc, department store operators Macy's Inc, JC Penney Co Inc and Kohl's Corp and home goods chains Home Depot Inc and Lowe's Cos Inc traded lower in light pre-market trading.
Electronics chain Best Buy Co Inc and online retailers eBay Inc and Amazon.com Inc were also down slightly.
Early results from the Black Friday weekend that kicks off U.S. holiday shopping showed that sales grew both in stores and online, fueled by repeat trips, heavier online sales and deep discounts from retailers across the price spectrum.
"We thought mall traffic was good but lines were not as impressive as shoppers cherry-picked the best deals," said UBS analyst Roxanne Meyer. "We thought promotions would have been steeper, given retailers' inventory issues. The new reality is that 25 to 30 percent off is not going to cut it."
"Despite initial reports of sales gains this weekend, we believe the challenge for retailers will be to keep, or in some cases increase, momentum, in order to clear seasonal inventory despite five fewer shopping days and a later Hanukkah," Meyer added.
Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving, is the traditional start of the holiday shopping season and once marked the day retailers would turn a profit -- or get into the black -- for the year. A calendar shift this year resulted in a shorter period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Shares of Wal-Mart fell 52 cents to $55.36 in light volume before the stock market opened, while Macy's fell 17 cents to $7.25.
(Editing by Dave Zimmerman)
