June 12, 2008 at 11:00 am by Tom Lydon
Retail exchange traded funds (ETFs) are jumping for joy at the news of an unexpected gain. So, if you were feeling a little guilty about that splurge, just tell yourself it was for the greater good.
Retail sales rose a full point in May as consumers went on spending sprees with their rebate checks, reports Joanne Morrison for Reuters. Even Wall Street wasn’t that optimistic – the actual numbers were twice what had been expected.
Excluding autos, sales rose 1.2%. Excluding autos, building materials and gasoline, sales still managed a rise of 0.8%.
- SPDR S&P Retail (XRT): down 8.1% year-to-date
- Retail HOLDRs (RTH): up 0.2% year-to-date
- iShares S&P Global Consumer Discretionary (RXI): down 10.5% year-to-date
- Vanguard Consumer Discretionary (VCR): down 8.4% year-to-date
For full disclosure, some of Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of RTH.
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