Amazon sets sales record

Amazon.com Inc.'s holiday sales set a record on strong demand for electronics and books, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said December sales at its US discount stores are rising about 2 percent as shoppers completed their Christmas purchases.

Amazon.com said it set a single-day record of more than 2.8 million orders, or about one-third more than its holiday record last year. Wal-Mart's same-store sales this month through Dec. 24 are ''in the middle" of the forecast gain of 1 percent to 3 percent. Shares of gadget retailer Sharper Image Inc. plunged after disappointing holiday sales prompted it to cut profit forecasts.

DVD players and digital cameras were among top sellers at Amazon.com, which ran out of Apple Computer Inc.'s $299, 20-gigabyte iPod music player and extended its deadline for orders with standard shipping by two days. More shoppers visited Wal-Mart stores compared with a year earlier, boosting sales of general merchandise after sluggish results at the beginning of the month.

''It's going to be coming in within expectations," said Michael Koskuba, who helps manage about $1.2 billion at Victory Newbridge, including Kohl's Corp. shares.

Target Corp., the number two US discounter, said December sales are rising within its forecast for a gain of as much as 5 percent.

Amazon.com, the world's biggest online retailer, didn't specify which day set a record for holiday orders. The company also reported consumer electronics surpassed book sales during the Thanksgiving weekend, when it was its largest category for the first time. The Seattle-based online retailer has been boosting the number of consumer electronics on its site during the past year.

Shares of Amazon.com rose $3.32, or 8.5 percent, to close at $42.25 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading, the biggest increase since July 2003.

Wal-Mart rose 24 cents to close at $52.79 on the New York Stock Exchange. Minneapolis-based Target rose 81 cents to $51.31.

Sharper Image shares fell $4.18, or 18 percent, to $18.96.