Reports of the consumer’s demise greatly exaggerated as US retail sales see market rally extend

Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown: “The FTSE 100 has opened down marginally after strong sessions in the US and Asia Pacific stock markets. Yesterday’s catalyst was better than expected retail sales in America, which were up 1% in July compared to forecasts of 0.3%. That may cause the Federal Reserve Bank to exercise some caution in next month’s interest rate decision with markets now expecting a quarter point cut, dampening hopes for more aggressive action.

The consumer pulse check from the world’s largest economy sent a wave of confidence across the globe with major indices now broadly back where they started before the brutal sell-off earlier this month.

It’s the turn of UK retail sales this morning, and activity has recovered to 0.5% last month, compared to a 0.9% decline in June. However, that was a little below the 0.7% consensus expectation, perhaps contributing to this morning’s sluggish opening.

Online spending continues to outpace the high street with sales by value up 2.5%. Meanwhile food store sales volumes were flat but non-food volumes were up 1.4% with particular pockets of strength in department stores and sports retailers, thought to have been boosted by promotional activity and Euro 24.

AstraZeneca, the UK’s first £200bn company, has received US regulatory approval for its immunotherapy Imfinzi as a combination treatment for the most common form of lung cancer, when it’s diagnosed early enough to be surgically removed. It’s already Astra’s second-best selling cancer therapy generating $2.3bn in revenues in the first half of this year, up 25% on an underlying basis.

Brent crude remains just below $81 per barrel as it looks to notch up its second consecutive week of gains. The combination of encouraging economic data, and tensions in the Middle-East are supporting the price despite ongoing concerns around demand in China.”