"This is a good end of (the) third quarter and we have some good momentum to the fourth quarter"
- Craig Dismuke, an economic strategist at Vining Sparks
Retail sales in the world's biggest economy jumped surprisingly in September, a sign consumers are pushing economic growth, the U.S. Census Bureau said Monday. The 1.1 per cent increase followed a revised 1.2 per cent advance in August that was the biggest since October 2010. Analysts had predicted retail sales to rise 0.8% last month.
"This is a good end of (the) third quarter and we have some good momentum to the fourth quarter," said Craig Dismuke, an economic strategist at Vining Sparks in Memphis, Tennessee.
"We continue to be encouraged by positive signs from the housing sector, lower jobless claims, higher consumer sentiment and higher consumer spending," said Kurt McNeil, GM's vice president of U.S. sales. "The stiffest headwinds are uncertainty, some of which is related to the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and concerns about the pace of growth here at home."
The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.81 per cent to 1,440.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.72 per cent to 13,424.23. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.66 per cent to 3,064.18.
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