U.S. retail sales surged 18.0% in June from June 2020, the Commerce Department reported today. Demand for goods remained strong but spending is clearly shifting back to services.
Stocks fell despite the good news with economic recovery and post-vaccine recovery stocks taking the biggest hit.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) fell 1.23% on the day. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) gained 0.20%.
Recovery stocks such as MGM Resorts (MGM) and Macy’s (M) fell 3.19% and 3.56%, respectively. On the other hand, shares of companies with more exposure to steady staples-like demand rose with PepsiCo (PEP) up 0.37% and Procter & Gamble (PG) gaining 0.97%. Kimberly-Clark (KMB) closed ahead by 1.75% and Clorox (CLX) gained 2.62%.
Among the major indexes, the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.75% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.86%. The NASDAQ Composite dropped 0.80% and the NASDAQ 100 lost 0.77%. The small cap Russell 2000 was off 1.31% and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETGF (EEM) was lower by 0.80%.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 1 basis point to 1.29%.
The CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) climbed 9.4% to 18.61.
