By Wallace Witkowski, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- With gas prices at multiyear lows
and consumer sentiment at multiyear highs, retail sales data will
likely be the main catalyst for stocks this week.
The S&P 500 (SPX) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)
closed at record levels on Friday, wrapping a seventh straight week
with gains on a strong jobs report.
Last week, reports circulated that Thanksgiving holiday sales
had fallen 11%. While that figure came under dispute, it could
indicate a lackluster shopping season, especially considering that
U.S. households could be saving as much as $1,100 a year if current
gas prices hold. In fact, gas prices could fall even further.
The Commerce Department is scheduled to report November retail
sales data on Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expect a
consensus of 0.2% growth. In October, sales snapped back to offset
a September decline.
"The week after nonfarm payrolls is slow, so we're left with
retail sales, that's the big number of the week," said Dan
Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG.
"With gas prices doing what they're doing, you'd like to see
core sales get a healthy bump," he added. A disappointing read for
November could shake up markets, and put pressure on S&P 500
retailer stocks, many of which are up 10% or more in the fourth
quarter to date.
Here's a recap of Black Friday's winners and losers.
A smattering of earnings on the week
Only four S&P 500 companies are scheduled to report
quarterly earnings this week: H&R Block Inc. (HRB) and AutoZone
Inc. (AZO) on Tuesday, Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) on Wednesday,
and Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) on Thursday.
Other economic data this week includes NFIB's November small
business index, October job openings, and October wholesale
inventories data on Tuesday.
Along with weekly jobless claims and retail data, November
import prices and October business inventories data are released on
Thursday.
Also this Friday, a read of December consumer sentiment comes
out. November's reading showed sentiment levels at their highest in
more than seven years.
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