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.
“Households are now making those difficult choices on how to adjust spending,” said Ellen Zentner, a senior economist at Nomura Securities International, in the article.
Still, consumer discretionary and retail ETFs have climbed to all-time highs this month on hopes consumers are nearing the end of the deleveraging process after the financial crisis. [Retail ETFs Hit Record Highs as Consumers Turn Upbeat]
Retail sector ETFs rose Thursday after March same-store sales met expectations and the number of people filing for unemployment benefits dropped sharply, reports Trang Ho at Investor’s Business Daily.
SPDR S&P Retail ETF
