“The January retail sales report is an unmitigated disaster,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC, said in the Bloomberg article. “The entire complexion of the consumer was changed for the worse today.”
Lower car sales could affect the First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto Index Fund (NasdaqGS: CARZ), which tracks the global automobile industry, has declined 1.4% year-to-date. CARZ includes large holdings to Japan at 32.9% and Germany 24.9%, along with a 20.2% weight to the U.S. [Auto ETF Could be Stuck in Neutral]
Grounded flights will put pressure on the airline industry. While there is no longer an airline ETF, the sub-sector is a major component of the transportation ETF, iShares Transportation Average ETF (NYSEArca: IYT), which has a 13.6% allocation to airliners. IYT is down 1.4% year-to-date.
Additionally, the lower foot traffic at the mall has put a crimp in the retail sector. The Market Vectors Retail ETF (NYSEArca: RTH) has declined 4.5%, Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLY) dropped 3.4% and Vanguard Consumer Discretionary Index Fund (NYSEArca: VCR) dipped 3.3% year-to-date. In contrast, the S&P 500 index is down 1.3% year-to-date.
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