Surging bra sales at Victoria’s Secret hoisted shares of its parent company, Limited Brands, to an all-time high, as retail sales industrywide firmed up amid an improving jobs picture.

Victoria’s Secret posted an eye-popping 19-percent gain in comparable sales last month, getting a lift from strong demand for two new bras called the “Incredible” and the “Gorgeous,” the company said. Limited shares perked up as high as $36.08 before settling up 1.6 percent, at $35.80.

“The racer-back push-up bra in the Incredible is back-ordered in a number of sizes,” according to retail analyst Jennifer Black.

Overall, retailers posted a surprising 1.7 percent gain in March comparable sales, bucking Wall Street’s dour forecast for a decline versus last year’s increase of 9 percent.

Other big winners included Saks, Nordstrom and Costco.

But Kohl’s, Target and Gap disappointed investors with steep drops in comparable sales. Gap said the earthquake in Japan, where it has 150 stores, would lower first-quarter earnings by 4 cents a share.