Shares in US retailer Kmart fell to a 30-year low today on investor uncertainty over the discount chain's future.
Shares of Kmart were off 56 cents at $3.64, a drop of 13.33 per cent, in heavy volume on the New York Stock Exchange. Today’s fall shaved $260 million, or 12.6 per cent, off the company's market capitalisation.
Kmart shares have been hammered recently by talk of bankruptcy from Wall Street analysts after weak holiday sales said in a news release it is seeking supplemental financing from lenders and reviewing its current business plan.
Kmart also said it would fall short of Wall Street profit forecasts for fiscal 2001.
"We don't know if they are going to file for bankruptcy protection so they can try to close stores and run a more profitable, smaller company," said Ms Shelly Hale, retail analyst with Bank of America Securities.
"Or we don't know if they're going to get the liquidity they need from their current lending institutions and be able to run the business without having to file for bankruptcy," she said.
Ms Hale said if Kmart gets the financing it needs, the stock will go back up to $6 a share, and if the company files for bankruptcy, it will likely fall to $1 a share.