Consumer Cos Up After December Retail Sales Data - Consumer Roundup

Shares of retailers and other consumer companies rose after strong reading of December sales growth. The Commerce Department reported sales at U.S. retailers, restaurants and websites rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in December from the prior month, causing Wall Street economists to boost their projections for fourth-quarter growth. Fears that the demise of the American mall was at hand have been mitigated by a rebound in sales for some bricks-and-mortar stores in recent months. Consumer inflation data from the Labor Department indicated that prices were rising, however, which could be a headwind for consumers if wage growth does not keep up.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 12, 2018 16:28 ET (21:28 GMT)