Dillard's Inc. /zigman2/quotes/200348006/composite DDS -0.35% stock soared 17% in Thursday trading after it reported a surprise profit, and lifted other department store stocks with it. J.C. Penney Co. Inc. /zigman2/quotes/204684963/composite JCP -3.51% shares jumped 5%, Macy's Inc. /zigman2/quotes/201854387/composite M +1.82% shares climbed nearly 3%, and Nordstrom Inc. /zigman2/quotes/203902116/composite JWN -0.72% stock was up almost 2% on Thursday. Many department stores haven't reported their latest quarterly earnings, heading into a holiday season with both bullish forecasts for sales but concerns about the shortened shopping period. Dillard's stock has gained 32% for the year to date, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF /zigman2/quotes/206947004/composite XRT -0.36% is up 9.1% and the S&P 500 index /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX +0.15% has gained 23.4% for the period.










