Walgreen (WAG), Dollar General (DG) and Express (EXPR) all reported higher quarterly profits Tuesday morning, with Dollar General and Express both beating Wall Street consensus earnings estimates. With news like this, it may be beneficial for an investor to take a closer look at the retail sector.

Granted, Walgreen did not impress Wall Street, and shares fell more than 7%. Express and Dollar General, however, are reaping the benefits with Express trading up over 5% and Dollar General enjoying a 3% upswing. Both companies opened trading up in the markets Tuesday.

Quiksilver (ZQK), Body Central (BODY), and Aeropostale (ARO) are stocks to watch today, as all three are scheduled to report earnings after the bell.

Street consensus for Quiksilver is a reported loss of 5 cents per share, on revenues of $414 million. Wall Street anticipates Body Central earnings of 26 cents per share, on revenues of $62.1 million. Aeropostale, by Street consensus, is expected to report quarterly earnings of 97 cents per share, on revenues of $834.6 million.

Investors who desire more exposure to the broader sectors of retail and apparel should take a look at the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT).

Jason is a cofounder of Benzinga.com. Follow Benzinga on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Benzinga

A parade of retailers reported their January same-store sales figures on Thursday morning, and the results were actually much better than expected. The aggregate 4.2% rise in monthly sales easily surpassed analysts' expectations, leading to a solidly bullish session for the SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) exchange-traded fund (ETF).

However, not everyone was won over by January's stronger-than-forecast sales data. Around midday on Thursday, one skeptical options trader initiated a long put spread on the XRT, in an attempt to capitalize on expected weakness in the retail-based fund.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) is expected to report Q4 earnings in late January. February put option implied volatility is at 18, April is at 19, below its 26-week average of 22, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

S&P Retail Index SPDR (XRT) January put option implied volatility is at 22, February is at 23, compared to its 26-week average of 26, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing near-term price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

MasterCard Inc. (MA) closed down $6.12 to $194.40. Traders are concerned the Federal Reserve's potential approach to debit rules following the Financial Reform Bill could pressure the shares of MA and Visa. October put option implied volatility is at 36, January is at 38. This is versus its 26-week average of 33, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

S&P Retail Index SPDR (XRT) seeks to replicate as closely as possible to the performance of the S&P Retail Select Index. XRT closed up 38 cents to $38.59. XRT call option volume of 16K contracts compares to put volume of 91K contracts. September put option implied volatility is at 27, October is at 31, December is at 35. This is versus its 26-week average of 29, according to Track Data, suggesting larger December price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.