Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up 12 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 53 points and are trading 0.2% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 165 points and are trading 0.4% above fair value.

Retail sales were flat in June (Briefing.com consensus -0.1%) following an upwardly revised 0.3% increase (from 0.1%) in May, pressured by a decline in auto sales related to the CDK Global cyberattack and lower gas prices. Excluding autos and gasoline, retail sales rose 0.8% month-over-month. Excluding autos, retail sales jumped 0.4% month-over-month (Briefing.com consensus 0.2%) after an upwardly revised 0.1% increase (from -0.1%) in May.

The key takeaway from the report is that it conveyed some rather solid levels of discretionary spending on goods in June that belies any hard landing tracking for the economy.

Import prices were flat in June following an upwardly revised 0.2% decline (from -0.4%) in May. Nonfuel import prices rose 0.2% month-over-month on the heels of a 0.3% decline in May. Import prices were up 1.6% year-over-year while nonfuel import prices were up 1.0%.

Export prices declined 0.5% month-over-month in June following a downwardly revised 0.7% decline (from -0.6%) in May. Nonagricultural export prices fell 0.6% after declining 0.8% in May. Export prices were up 0.7% year-over-year while nonagricultural export prices were up 1.4%.