The market rally is losing steam as the session moves closer to the weekend. There is no doubt the angst of the market can’t fade away with just a better-than-expected retail sales report, but the news this morning is a sharp reversal from August. The headline read came in at 0.6% improvement from the previous month, and 2.2% higher than a year earlier.

Strongest Monthly Change:

• Autos +1.1%
• Furniture +1.0%
• Building and Garden +1.4%
• Sporting Goods +1.4%

Weakest Monthly Change:

• Gasoline Stations -2.4%
• Department Stores -0.7%
• Health & Personal Care -0.5%

While the retail sales report belies the tepid sentiment read, the fact of the matter is consumers have never regained confidence since the stock market crash in 2000.  Near term, I would say the 87.9 read from the University of Michigan is only slightly disappointing, as it’s been flat for so long.