Market Summary

Wall Street reversed early morning losses to finish higher on the session and the week. It was a mixed bag of economic data, with stocks sliding on disappointing Retail Sales, then paring losses on a stronger than expected Consumer Sentiment reading. The last hour of the session was once again good for equities heading into the weekend.

At the closing bell, the DJIA rose 38.54, or 0.4 percent, to 10,211.07. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 4.76, or 0.4 percent, to 1,091.60, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced 24.89, or 1.1 percent, to 2,243.60. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies surged 9.21, or 1.4 percent, to 649.00. Health care and technology shares led the market higher.

For the week, the blue chips climbed 2.8 percent, the S&P 500 index rose 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq rose 1.1 percent. It was the first weekly gain in nearly a month for the street.

Bond prices rose, with the 10 year benchmark U.S. treasury falling 9 basis points to 3.24 percent. The euro was stable against the greenback. Gold rose $8 to settle at $1,230.20 an ounce, ending the week up 1 percent after touching a new high of $1,254 on Tuesday. Crude oil for July was down $1.46 to $74.02 a barrel on the NYMEX, unable to hold $75.

Economic Calendar

Retail Sales Lead Early Market Decline

Retail sales in May fell 1.2 percent after gaining 0.6 percent in April and jumping 2.1 percent in March. May came in far lower than analysts’ expectations for a 0.4 percent increase. Sales excluding autos and gasoline posted a 0.8 percent drop, following a 0.6 percent boost in April.

Consumer spending has been healthy on average over the last several months, so some retreat is to be expected. However with the state of the economy the way it is, any negative decline will have the market thinking twice as to whether or not it is a signal of a retreat by the consumer.

Equities Turn Higher on Consumer Data

Usually we have seen a rise in sales and a below average reading on sentiment, however Friday saw the reversal. The preliminary reading for Consumer Sentiment in the month of June came in at 75.5 from 73.6 a month earlier. The number was well above the street’s forecast of 74.5.

So lets get this straight, sentiment is up, but retail sales fell for the month? Someone is lying here…