WASHINGTON, May 14 — Wall Street continued to rebound at the start of trading today, despite disappointing data that showed retail sales declining in some sectors.
Before markets opened, the Commerce Department reported retail sales were flat in April after a surge in March.
Online sales fell last month after booming over the past year as Covid-19 hit the US economy, but sales of motor vehicles and at restaurants rose, albeit modestly, as the pandemic ebbed.
The world’s largest economy has been on the upswing as widespread Covid-19 vaccinations allow businesses to return to normal, and despite the worse-than-expected data, Patrick J. O’Hare of Briefing.com said markets believe the recovery is ongoing.
“The key takeaway from the report is that the ‘weakness’ was really driven by a tough sequential comparison; moreover, the market won’t be too concerned by the ‘miss,’ knowing that hiring activity is going to increase, that wages will likely increase and that there is a huge amount of personal savings at the ready to spend in coming months,” he said.
About 20 minutes into trading, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.8 per cent at 34,283.42.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.9 per cent to 4,150.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index 1.0 per cent to 13,253.94.
The Federal Reserve also reported before markets opened that industrial production increased 0.7 per cent in April, in line with forecasts. The report noted supply chain difficulties and auto manufacturing fell amid a global semiconductor shortage.
Markets struggled early in the week amid fears of rising prices as supply chain issues and increased consumer demand hit the reopening economy.
But sentiment reversed on Thursday, with indices finishing higher after the government reported fewer new jobless claims and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed mask requirements for people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. — AFP
