This past week, the markets saw their worst day so far this year, as volatility has spiked. Growing concerns that tax reform and other economic growth initiatives may not happen this year get part of the blame. Meanwhile, earnings reports from big retailers continued to highlight the ongoing woes in that sector, though there were a few bright spots.

Among the investor favorite stocks featured by Benzinga during the past week, the retail industry was again well represented. And the huge ransomware attack that began the week also brought some focus on the technology sector.

Retail

"Retail Wars Move From Online To In-Store AsWal-Mart Tests Cashierless Store To Rival Amazon" by Shanthi Rexaline takes a look at how one retailer is gearing up to take on the rivalry posed by online behemoth Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). See the new approach that Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE: WMT) says it will try at two of its supercenters.

In "The Difference A Year Makes: Analyst Who Upgraded JC Penney A Year Ago 'Recalibrates' Expectations," Shanthi Rexaline examines why the analysts at Baird have changed their mind about J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE: JCP), even if "we continue to believe management has put JCP on a better path."

Dustin Blitchok's "Baird Finds Reasons For Investor Patience With Urban Outfitters" discusses why even though Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) first-quarter earnings were a disappointment, the stock could represent a long-term value in the troubled apparel and retail sector, according to one analyst.

Also check out "Retail Analyst Says Target Isn't Out Of The Woods Just Yet.

Technology

The corporate world is in the process of making a major shift toward security-defined networks, according to "Cisco Systems Offers An Opportunity To Invest In A Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift" by Wayne Duggan. See why Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) could be uniquely-positioned to benefit from that shift.

In Mark Fritz's "Nvidia Will Maintain 'Dominant Market Share' Thanks To New Volta Chip," see why the new NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) GPU chip for data center customers should protect the company's dominant market share against the Vega chip of rival AMD.

"The Sell-Side View On Advanced Micro Devices' Analyst Day" by Wayne Duggan discusses why Wall Street analysts were disappointed by the Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD)'s Analyst Day event last week. Key themes from analysts at Deutsche Bank, Oppenheimer and others include the competitive environment and low expectations.

For more on cybersecurity in particular, see PureFunds Talks WannaCry Fallout, Cybersecurity Stocks.

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Image Credit: By Louis.herman (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

See more from Benzinga

• Barron's Picks And Pans: Retail Stocks, Berkshire Hathaway And More

• Barron's Picks And Pans: Foreign Stocks, Analog Devices And More

• Benzinga's Bulls And Bears For The Past Week: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly In Retail

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