The markets are off their highs as the banks give up some of the earlier gains.  The Dow turned negative and the S&P is slightly higher with Nasdaq up about .5%.  But overall, advancers are leading decliners 1822/1019 on the NYSE and 2067/786 on the Nasdaq.  Also, impacting the market are several economic reports from this morning. 

Retail sales for December were up 0.6% and ex food and auto up 0.2%.  Consumers spent more time on auto lots than inside department stores.   And when they did go to department stores, they were looking and comparing and then ordering online.  Non-store retailers (internet, catalog and phone) continue to be the real winner with 13.2% increase year over year.  Prices at the pump also pushed gasoline sales higher. 

Some highlights:

• Auto Sales +2.4%
• Non-Store Retailers +1.3%
• Gasoline Stations +2.0%
• Department Stores -0.6%
• Electronics -0.5%
• Food and Beverage -0.3%

Consumers, who have been feeling more optimistic (although Consumer Sentiment Index for January was down to 98.1 from 98.2 in December) about the future thanks to lower unemployment, wages ticking higher, house value rising and their portfolios appreciating, spent $658 billion this holiday season. According to the National Retail Federation, holiday sales were up 4% versus the 3.6% estimate.  

There is no doubt that online is where the real growth is as non-store sales were up 12.6% exceeding the 7-10% estimates and represented 18.7% of total holiday sales.  Amazon should be a big beneficiary from this.  Yesterday, Amazon said it will add 100,000 plus jobs of various skill levels and open 3 new fulfillment centers so they can be closer to their prime customers and meet the two day delivery.  

Also on the economic front, wholesale prices were up 0.3% in December due in part to higher prices in cars, food and gas. 

Oil is down today with WTI trading at $52.44 per barrel.  The latest Baker Hughes reports shows U.S. rigs were down 7 rigs from last week to 522 compared to 515 last year.  This was the first decline in rigs in 11 weeks.

Have a great holiday weekend.  The markets are closed Monday.