12/2/2019
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst

It was another good week for the market. The record books were adjusted almost every day on good old-fashioned good news.

Earnings season has wrapped up, and it was so much better than advertised, which isn’t unusual. Still, the smartest folks on Wall Street came into November sitting on piles of cash. The smart ones have begun the rush to get into the game. The geniuses are too busy licking their wounded pride and have decided to hold off because its fourth-quarter earnings will be devastating.

Two sectors standing out from the rest both rallied in reaction to spending.

Consumer Discretionary

Consumers have been king all year long, but especially so in the past six months. Historically, consumer spending is 68% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This year, it’s been trending higher as a percentage and has carried the economy along the way.

The table below actually presents two investment themes:

• Continued strength in consumer spending
• Resumption of investments (business and housing)

Despite the strength of American consumers, many retail stocks have only just now begun to rally, and two key retailer/consumer indices, Consumer Discretionary (XLY) +24% and SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) +9.7% still trail the broad market.

To read this week's Payne's Perspective, along with his stock recommendations, contact your account representative or email us at info@wstreet.com.

Charles Payne
Wall Street Strategies

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