What happened Shares of Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) were gaining today as optimism built for the department-store chain's second-quarter earnings report, due out tomorrow morning. The stock's rise today came amid a bullish day for the market, as the S&P 500 closed up 1.2% on positive remarks on trade with China from President Trump, along with news that Germany may be considering a stimulus package to lift its economic growth. Kohl's finished the session up 5.9%. Image source: Kohl's. So what Retail stocks like Kohl's have been highly sensitive to China trade news, as nearly all of them import a significant percentage of their inventory from the mass producer of everything from apparel to electronics. Tomorrow's earnings report, however, was probably the biggest driver of today's gains. Despite a weak quarter, from Macy's, investors seem hopeful that Kohl's will turn in solid numbers when it reports second-quarter results. One potential catalyst for the company is its expanding relationship with Amazon.com; Kohl's began accepting Amazon returns at all of its stores as of early July. Some research, including a study by inMarket, has indicated that Kohl's is seeing an increase in the number of visits and in the amount of time spent inside its stores, a sign the company may be getting a sales boost from the new partnership with Amazon. Tomorrow will offer investors their first glance of the impact of the Amazon strategy. Now what Of course, today's gains could be for naught if Kohl's delivers a weak quarter tomorrow. Analysts see revenue falling 2.5% to $4.2 billion, and for earnings per share to slip from $1.76 a year ago to $1.53. Keep those numbers in mind after the retailer posts its second-quarter results tomorrow. 10 stocks we like better than Kohl'sWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.* David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Kohl's wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of June 1, 2019 John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jeremy Bowman owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Source