Consumer Sentiment Rises to 9 Month High - Is There More to This Story?
The April consumer sentiment reading by Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan came in at a strong 84.1, the highest reading since July of last summer. This sounds like good news, but, is there more to this story? If the American consumer is so positive (at least on near term conditions) then why has the S&P 500 consumer discretionary index performed so poorly in 2014 (-4.0% year-to-date), especially after the strong performance (+40.0%) in 2013? The consumer discretionary sector includes autos, entertainment, retail, hospitality and publishing. During 2014, blue chip stocks from this sector have had a rough time - Amazon (-23.5%), General Motors (-16.4%) and Staples (-23.8%).
