Shares of Tiffany & Co. TIF, -1.61% shed 2% in morning trade Friday, after the high-end jewelry seller was downgraded at Oppenheimer, which cited concerns over the negative impact of a rising dollar. Analyst Brian Nagel cut his rating to perform from outperform. Nagel said he still looks "very favorably" on Tiffany's longer-term prospects, as a noted activist investor, new senior leadership and an underlying improved backdrop should help drive profitability. "In the nearer term, we are simply concerned that recent shifts in global currencies could weigh on domestic sales to foreign tourists and knock shares from now peakish valuations," Nagel wrote in a note to clients. The U.S. Dollar Index DXY, +0.82% surged 0.7% toward a 13-month high Friday, making U.S. products more expensive to foreign tourists. Tiffany's stock has run up 29% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF XRT, +0.76% has advanced 13% and the S&P 500 SPX, -0.54% has gained 6.3%.
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