Retail Sales

On the day Sears officially announces its filing for bankruptcy, September retail sales came in less than expected; although, there are many moving parts, and some are robust.

• Highlights
• Retail was robust
• Restaurants weak (Hurricane Florence may have affected)
• Internet surging
• Rebounds: clothing, electronics & furniture
• Slowdowns: building materials & health care

Perhaps the biggest highlight is the control group, which is used in GDP calculations and excludes food, services, auto dealers, building materials and gasoline stories increased +0.5%, which was stronger than expected.

Empire State manufacturing

The NY Fed report on manufacturing came in stronger than expected.   The manufacturing renaissance continues:

Highlights:

So far, there has been two rally attempts.

There has been defensive buying as real estate (top performer), utilities and staples are higher.  There is major selling in big tech.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is unchanged
• The S&P 500 is lower by 0.18%
• The Nasdaq is lower by 0.45%
• The Russell 2000 is higher by 0.26%

Breadth: Improving

• NYSE advancers 1,818 to declines 1,150; new 52-week highs 7 to new lows 167
• Nasdaq advancers 1,535 to decliners 1,422; new 52-week highs 15 to new lows 132