We’re obviously keeping close track of the dawning Q4 earnings season, but before the bell Wednesday, Retail Sales numbers were released, and the results are not pretty: in December, retail sales fell 0.9 percent, way down from the expected -0.1 percent. November revisions were also cut from 0.7 percent a month ago to 0.4 percent now.
Retail sales ex-autos was down a full 1 percent. This marks the biggest drop since this time a year ago. Import prices have fallen 2.5 percent, which is the biggest drop in 6 years.
This disappointing data has sent stock futures shooting downward: S&P 500 futures swung down 23 points on the retail sales report, and the Dow nosedived 225 points immediately after the news (it’s currently down 250+ points ahead of the open). This follows a wild swing in equities markets Tuesday, when a market open in the green swooped into negative territory, based largely on the price of oil bottoming at $44.20 per barrel, also a 6-year low.
The retail sales report seems to indicate a disconnect between the consumer saving money at the pump but not putting those savings into spending over the holiday season.
In earnings news, JPMorgan (JPM) disappointed investors by missing earnings estimates. This followed a slew of negative analyst estimate revisions for Q4 — 10 in the past 60 days — and marks JPM’s third earnings miss in its past four quarters.
Elsewhere in big bank earnings, Wells Fargo (WFC) posted better-than-expected results in its Q4 report, on both top and bottom lines. Wells Fargo has demonstrated a good track record in comparison to its big-bank peers. Both Wells Fargo and JPMorgan have Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) currently.
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