The Dow Jones average closed at a record high for the third consecutive trading day and a retails sales report showed strong consumer activity in the month of September. But none of the three broadcast evening news programs reported either development.
The Dow closed at 11,866.69 on October 5, the same day oil rose 62 cents to close just above the $60 mark. Reacting to the market’s recent rally, expert Arthur Hogan told the Associated Press that he found it “interesting we could have a data point like oil's climb and not have the market backup much.”
“It's certainly a scenario where the longer term prospects for the market are looking more positive,” the Jeffries & Co. market analyst added.
October 5 also saw the release of a report showing stronger-than-expected retail sales in September.
“U.S. department stores and clothing retailers posted surprisingly strong September sales on Thursday as falling gasoline prices and cool weather spurred spending on fall fashions,” Reuters reporter Emily Kaiser noted in her October 5 story.
“Excluding Wal-Mart, same-store sales were up 6 percent, well ahead of expectations for 5.2 percent growth, with 70 percent of retailers beating expectations,” Kaiser noted.
The bottom line, investment analyst Sarah Henry told Reuters, was that “everything came together” in September to push shoppers out to stores.
“People were feeling a bit more wealthy because the stock market has been up,” Henry argued, adding that “The weather was seasonably cool, so that always helps” with boosting fall retail sales.
