Can anything stop the record-breaking rally in retail ETFs?
The sector ETFs managed slight gains at Friday’s open despite a report that March retail sales dropped the most in nine months.
SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEArca: XRT) and Market Vectors Retail ETF (NYSEArca: RTH) were up fractionally in early trading.
U.S. retail sales declined 0.4% last month; the report was weaker than expected.
“A pickup in hiring and bigger increases in wages will be needed to ensure any slowdown proves temporary as federal budget cuts and an increase in the payroll tax restrain the expansion,” Bloomberg News reported.