Stock Market Today: Dow Jumps 658 Points After Stellar Retail Sales Report
Stocks made a valiant rebound attempt on Friday, spurred by a sign that consumers haven''t thrown in the towel. The Commerce Department this morning said retail sales rose 1% month-over-month in June. While most of the increase was a result of higher gas and food prices, Wall Street was still pleased that the figure marked an improvement over May''s modest decline and came in above economists'' consensus estimate for an increase of 0.9%. SEE MORE The 12 Best Consumer Discretionary Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2022 "Spending was broad based and not just boosted by more money spent on gasoline," says Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for independent broker-dealer LPL Financial. "Given this report, the U.S. might actually post positive growth figures for Q2 and avoid two consecutive quarters of negative growth," Roach adds. "The Fed could try to use this data to support a larger-than-expected hike later this month. Right now, the Fed is focused on the data and if the consumer is stable enough, the Fed could indeed implement a large hike without breaking the economy." Sign up for Kiplinger''s FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice.
Stock Market Today: Dow Jumps 658 Points After Stellar Retail Sales Report
Stocks made a valiant rebound attempt on Friday, spurred by a sign that consumers haven''t thrown in the towel. The Commerce Department this morning said retail sales rose 1% month-over-month in June. While most of the increase was a result of higher gas and food prices, Wall Street was still pleased that the figure marked an improvement over May''s modest decline and came in above economists'' consensus estimate for an increase of 0.9%. SEE MORE The 12 Best Consumer Discretionary Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2022 "Spending was broad based and not just boosted by more money spent on gasoline," says Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for independent broker-dealer LPL Financial. "Given this report, the U.S. might actually post positive growth figures for Q2 and avoid two consecutive quarters of negative growth," Roach adds. "The Fed could try to use this data to support a larger-than-expected hike later this month. Right now, the Fed is focused on the data and if the consumer is stable enough, the Fed could indeed implement a large hike without breaking the economy." Sign up for Kiplinger''s FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice.