US SMALL/MIDCAPS-Retailers climb after Abercrombie results

NEW YORK Aug 15 (Reuters) - Small- and mid-capitalization stocks rose on Wednesday, with shares of retailers including Aeropostale climbing after fellow teen clothing company Abercrombie & Fitch said the pace of sales declines had slowed.

Shares of Aeropostale, which is due to report results Thursday, gained 3 percent to $13.63. Option players appeared to be positioning for near-term gains in the stock, with WhatsTrading.com options strategist Frederic Ruffy noting that Aeropostale's 30-day option implied volatility is moving to 52-week highs ahead of the results.

Abercrombie shares jumped 9 percent to $35.23. It said the pace of declines in its sales has slowed this month as it reported a quarterly profit that slightly topped its recent weak forecast.

Among other retailers, shares of True Religion shot up 6.7 percent to $22.83, while shares of Perry Ellis were up 8.8 percent at $22.27.

Among other gainers, shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc were up 5.5 percent at $24.11.

It announced earlier this week the resignation of board member William Davis, who was recently stripped of his lead director position for selling company shares at a time when trading by insiders was prohibited.

The S&P MidCap 400 index climbed 0.6 percent while the S&P SmallCap 600 index gained 1 percent. In comparison, the benchmark S&P 500 was up 0.1 percent.