Retail Sales Improve In March, Stocks Respond

Apparently, Amazon hasn't killed all of Main Street just yet.

After three straight monthly declines, US retail sales rose in March by 0.6%, beating consensus forecasts, with Americans spending more on big-ticket items.

Following a drop of 0.1% in February and a revised -0.2% in January, consumers stepped up to the plate in March, boosting hopes that the economic expansion would continue. Year-over-year, retail sales improved by 4.5%.

While those figures are encouraging, they're likely not much more than inflation, which, depending on where one resides and what one spends money upon, could be as high as 6-8% according to anecdotal reports. Other, more frugal consumers routinely report lower costs for food, though rent, gasoline, mortgage interest, health care, education, and taxes in general have been on the rise.

On the earnings front, Bank of America reported smashing numbers, with EPS up 51% to 62 cents a share versus the prior quarter. Adjusted revenue rose nearly four percent, to $23.1 billion, but the stock barely budged on the news, up just 13 cents (0.44%) to 29.93. While banking is back to being less risky after washing out all the bad debt from the sub-prime catastrophe, investors are still skeptical of the large banks, especially after revelations of many misdeeds at Wells-Fargo.

Banks like JP Morgan Chase, which has a better focus on wealth management, have fared better than standard retail operations such as BofA.

Dow Jones Industrial Average April Scorecard:

Date	Close	Gain/Loss	Cum. G/L
4/2/18	23,644.19	-458.92	-458.92
4/3/18	24,033.36	+389.17	-69.75
4/4/18	24,264.30	+230.94	+161.19
4/5/18	24,505.22	+240.92	+402.11
4/6/18	23,932.76	-572.46	-170.35
4/9/18	23,979.10	+46.34	-134.01
4/10/18	24,407.86	+428.76	+294.66
4/11/18	24,189.45	-218.55	+76.11
4/12/18	24,483.05	+293.60	+369.71
4/13/18	24,360.14	-122.91	+247.80
4/16/18	24,573.04	+212.90	+460.70

At the Close, Monday, April 16, 2018:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 24,573.04, +212.90 (+0.87%)
NASDAQ: 7,156.28, +49.63 (+0.70%)
S&P 500: 2,677.84, +21.54 (+0.81%)
NYSE Composite: 12,628.21, +82.16 (+0.65%)