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More than 120 Wal-Mart stores closed during hurricane Katrina but that number remained "very fluid" as the storm moved upland, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber at the company's Bentonville headquarters

"The fluidity of that number is because we're able to reopen some stores when power is restored. Right now, 100 stores are closed, and the majority of these facilities are affected by power issues," Weber said Tuesday morning.

Wal-Mart had teams in the area where Katrina came through but won't know the extent of store damage until later, Weber said. The company is trying to get generators to stores that have no power so they can reopen, she said.

Wal-Mart's Emergency Operations Center in Bentonville, which monitors hurricanes and other disasters, has been in round-the-clock operation since Friday, Weber said. The item most in demand at Wal-Mart stores in the hurricane's path before it hit were ball joints to put on cars so people could hook up trailers before they evacuated the area, she said.

Rising oil prices caused by hurricane Katrina created concern among analysts who said it might lower Wal-Mart's next quarterly earnings because gas prices at the pump affect the company's low-income customer base more than other retailers. Wal-Mart shares (NYSE: WMT) closed Tuesday at $45.19, down 46 cents. For the past 52 weeks, the stock price has ranged from a $57.89 high to a $45.16 low.