Stock Markets Jump Globally After Wall Street’s Rally: Live Updates

Total sales, which include retail purchases in stores and online as well as money spent at bars and restaurants, will be released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday morning. The agency reported a 16.4 percent drop in April, the largest monthly decline on record, and an 8.3 percent decline in March.

Economists expect sales in May to have bounced back from a grim April, when retail sales were the lowest since 2012, driven by widespread business closures.

After more than a month of quarantine, May brought a tentative restart of brick-and-mortar retail across most of the country, with major chains like Macy’s and Gap reopening hundreds of stores. Some restaurants that had either closed or shifted their business to delivery and curbside pickup also reopened for in-person dining.

There was also stimulus money — totaling $1,200 per recipient — that will run out in the coming months, with no indications that Congress intends to pass another round of assistance.

No matter how fleeting, the rebound in May will be seen as a welcome boost, especially for small businesses.

Still, the monthly sales jump was off “a pretty low hurdle,” said Aneta Markowska, the chief financial economist for the investment bank Jefferies. The bigger question was the sustainability of any improvement, because consumer spending was bolstered from tax refunds and government stimulus efforts.

“By the time we get into July, those tax refunds will probably be largely spent, and then you’re back to, ‘Hey, what’s the underlying employment growth?’ because that’s going to have to be the key driver of spending going forward,” she said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/16/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus.html