The S&P 500 Retailing Index fell as much as 1.1 per cent on Tuesday after Home Depot Inc. and Kohl’s Corp. posted disappointing quarterly sales and cut their forecasts for the full year.

Peers are dropping in sympathy, with home improvement company Lowe’s Cos., which reports earnings Wednesday morning, down as much as 1.8% in early trading. A department stores index plunged by the most since Aug. 14 on the Kohl’s results.

The declines show investors remain jittery about the outlook for retailers. That will come more into focus with additional reports coming this week, including: Target and L Brands, the owner of Victoria’s Secret, on Wednesday. Macy’s, Gap, Ross Stores and Nordstrom will release earnings on Thursday.

Kohl’s, which plunged as much as 18 per cent, is particularly worrisome for investors ahead of the gift-giving season. The company posted a deep cut in its earnings outlook for the year amid investments that it said would draw in more customers.

“Top-line sales weakness raises concern for the retailers to deliver in the all-important holiday quarter,” Bloomberg Intelligence’s Poonam Goyal said in an email. A deep cut to the company’s profit forecast, calls into question “the effectiveness of management’s initiatives and suggests more may still be needed.”

Home Depot also trimmed its outlook as the retailers’ investment in e-commerce was slow to produce results. The Atlanta-based company now sees same-store sales growth of 3.5% for the full year, down from 4% previously. It was the second time the company cut the projection this year.

TJX Cos. was a bright spot, however. The operator of the TJ Maxx and Marshalls chains reported comparable sales that outpaced the average estimate compiled by Consensus Metrix, sending shares higher. TJX shares are up as much as 3.6 per cent, a record high, in early trading.