Retail Sales Growth and Stock Market Returns

Do monthly retail sales data reliably predict U.S. stock market behavior? To investigate, we relate monthly change in retail sales to monthly S&P 500 Index return. We consider both seasonally adjusted (SA) and non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) retail sales series, as compiled by the the U.S. Census Bureau. Using monthly levels of retail sales and the S&P 500 Index during January 1992 (limited by retail sales data) through October 2022, we find that: (more…)