Today’s US retail sales report was mostly positive news. The control group was the lone exception but that was on softer grocery store spending while economically-sensitive spots showed some real strength, like food services and drinking places up 0.8%.
The CFO of the world’s biggest retailer had this to say on the call today:
- February was softer than expected, March was back to normal and April was very strong
Within the report there were some signs of consumers stretching dollars toward essentials and value. Comp sales rose 4.5% though with transactions up 1.6%. Again, much of that was in groceries and essentials as general merchandise slipped slightly but it’s not a big red flag. Some could be higher end consumers trading down but you really have to squint to see a soft consumer.
Internationally, they also saw steady but slower spending in Mexico and Canada.
Another sign came from Comcast today, which owns theme parks in the US and around the world. At a conference, the company CFO said there has been no sign of impact from economic uncertainty.
Shares of WMT are down 2.3% pre-market.
This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.