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U.S. Stocks Mixed As Retail Sales Grow Less Than Expected

By:
Vladimir Zernov
Published: Aug 14, 2020, 12:43 UTC

S&P 500 futures are swinging between gains and losses in the premarket trading session after the release of U.S. retail sales reports.

U.S. Stock Market

U.S. Retail Sales Grow By 1.2% Month-Over-Month

The U.S. has just provided its Retail Sales report for July. On a month-over-month basis, Retail Sales increased by 1.2%, while analysts expected growth of 1.9%. On a year-over-yeat basis, Retail Sales gained 2.7%.

Excluding Autos, Retail Sales grew by 1.9% while analysts expected growth of 1.3%.

The key difference between actual numbers and analyst expectations was the performance on the auto sales front.

S&P 500 futures are mixed after the release of Retail Sales report. Better-than-expected growth in Retail Sales excluding Autos provides hope that consumer activity is rebounding.

However, the weaker Retail Sales number may put pressure on stocks since they are near all-time highs. At this point, traders will likely demand stronger economic data to push stocks to higher levels.

China’s Retail Sales Decline by 1.1%

The whole world is closely watching the economic data from China since the country has faced coronavirus earlier than other economies and is already emerging from the crisis. In this situation, China’s data has an additional impact on the world markets.

Today, China has reported its Retail Sales for July. On a year-over-year basis, China’s Retail Sales declined by 1.1% while analysts expected growth of 0.1%.

This report shows that Chinese consumers remain cautious as they are worried about their economic prospects. While China has ultimately managed to contain the virus, its economy still depends on the rebound of the world economy which continues to experience problems due to the high levels of new coronavirus cases.

Industrial Production Report In Spotlight

A few minutes before the market open, U.S. will provide Industrial Production and Manufacturing Production reports for July. Industrial Production and Manufacturing Production are expected to grow by 3%.

In China, Industrial Production grew by 4.8% year-over-year compared to analyst consensus of 5.1% which put additional pressure on the world markets. Traders are worried that the rebound in China may be slowing down.

In case U.S. Industrial Production numbers also disappoint inventors, stocks may find themselves under pressure.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.

About the Author

Vladimir is an independent trader and analyst with over 10 years of experience in the financial markets. He is a specialist in stocks, futures, Forex, indices, and commodities areas using long-term positional trading and swing trading.

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