Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are down 20 points and are trading 0.3% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 41 points and are trading 0.3% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 175 points and are trading 0.4% below fair value.

Total retail sales increased 0.7% month-over-month in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%) following an upwardly revised 0.5% (from 0.4%) in October. Excluding autos, retail sales were up a more modest 0.2% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%) following an upwardly revised 0.2% (from 0.1%) in October.

The key takeaway from the report is in the ex-auto number, which was up modestly and a reflection of some softening spending activity given that it is not adjusted for price changes. In other words, the overall sales increase, excluding autos, appears to be more price driven than volume driven.

Industrial production fell 0.1% in November (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%) following a 0.4% decline in October (revised from 0.3%). Capacity utilization dropped to 76.8% in November (Briefing.com consensus 77.3%) from 77.0% in October (revised from 77.1%).