Stocks are set to open lower, despite better than expected retail sales for April.
Sales were up 1.3% from the previous month, comfortably ahead of the 0.8% increase economists had been predicting.
“It looks a decent report throughout with 11 of the 13 major categories reporting growth. Autos were up 3.2%, gasoline stations sales up 2.2% while the non-store category (largely internet) saw sales rise 2.1%. Building materials saw sales fall 1% MoM [month-on-month], but it has had a strong run of late with the YoY [year-on-year] growth looking healthy at +5.5%,” noted Dutch finance house ING.
“This report is likely to generate some encouraging headlines suggesting a bounce back in consumer activity, and it certainly is good news; however, the Federal Reserve will want to make sure it isn’t just a one-off,” ING reckoned.
Elsewhere on the retail front, J C Penney Company Inc (NYSE:JCP) capped a miserable week for big name retailers with a surprise fall in revenue in the first quarter of the year.
Shares plunged 9% as it posted a net loss of $68mln, though this was an improvement on the $150mln loss in the same quarter of 2015.
English football club Manchester United PLC (NYSE:MANU) expects to generate between £500-510mln of revenue for the full year, and forecasts earning of £178-188mln.
Third quarter results for the three months ended March 31 2016 reveal £44.9mln of earnings (adjusted EBITDA), up 76.8%, and a 29.9% rise in revenue to £123.4mln.
After a mixed showing yesterday, the S&P 500 is expected to open around six points lower at 2,058 while the Dow Jones is tipped to slide 55 points or so to 17,665.