Give the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEArca: XRT) some credit. Amid fears of near death experiences for some brick-and-mortar retailers, XRT disappointed in 2017, but the benchmark retail exchange traded fund is up nearly 13% in 2018.
XRT features exposure to the following corners of the retail industry: Apparel Retail, Automotive Retail, Computer & Electronic Retail, Department Stores, Drug Retail, Food Retailers, General Merchandise Stores, Hypermarkets & Super Centers, Internet & Direct Marketing Retail, and Specialty Stores, according to State Street.
Up about 2.6% over the past month, XRT now faces some technical tests, according to some traders.
“The XRT has had this great run,” Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak, said in an interview with CNBC. “The rally the last couple of weeks has taken it right up to the top end of what’s called an ascending triangle formation.”
Retail Considerations
Online retail sales continue to gain ground over traditional retailers, rising over 2000% since 1999. The amount of online buyers around the world estimated to increase 57% from 2014 to 2019; Global online retail sales $1.5 trillion in 2015, expected to rise to $4.1 trillion in 2020.
“The XRT ETF is breaking out above its resistance at around $51. The ETF is up 2 percent so far this week, on track for its best weekly performance in a month. If it can hold onto August’s gains, it will be its fifth straight month in the green,” according to CNBC.
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During the month of June, retails sales grew 0.5%, which, when paired with the 1.3% growth during the month of May, supports the continued boost in spending. In the past 12 months, retails sales have increased by 6.6%, touching slightly above the long-run average since 1980.
Furthermore, retail sales have climbed steadily the last five years, almost touching the 2% mark in the tail end of 2017.
“Amazon’s sales have been on the rise even as retail makes its recovery. The e-commerce giant most recently posted a quarterly sales increase of nearly 40 percent,” according to CNBC.
XRT allocates 16.31% of its weight to Internet retailers, its third-largest industry weight.
For more information on the consumer sector, visit our consumer discretionary category.