Stocks closed higher ahead of the long holiday weekend. In addition to bargain hunters swooping in following Thursday's broad-market bludgeoning, some encouraging economic data helped spark today's upside.
Specifically, data from the Census Bureau released ahead of the open showed new orders for durable goods rose 0.7% from March to April, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.
In other economic news, the University of Michigan's final Consumer Sentiment Index for May revealed consumer sentiment was down more than 10% month-to-month to its lowest level in about five months (69.1). However, this was better than the initial reading of 67.4, while short-term inflation expectations also improved.
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Concerns over slowing job and wage growth and higher-for-longer interest rates could "pose downside risk for consumer spending," said Joanne Hsu, director of the surveys of consumers at the University of Michigan. "Still, sentiment remains almost 20% above a year ago and about 40% above the all-time historic low in June 2022, reflecting how much consumer views have improved as inflation eased."
Today's durable goods figures are signaling a comeback in the manufacturing sector, says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. Additionally, the upwardly revised consumer sentiment, alongside lighter price pressure projections, "is providing fuel to the soft-landing trade," he notes.
Deckers Outdoor hits a record high after earnings
In single-stock news, Deckers Outdoor (DECK) soared 14.2% today to close at a new record high. Boosting the retail stock was its stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report that showed 18% year-over-year revenue growth and a 51% spike in earnings per share.
Still, CFRA Research analyst Zachary Warring reiterated a Sell rating on DECK after earnings. "We believe the company continues to execute and love the growth from its HOKA brand," Warring writes in a note. However, the analyst believes the consumer discretionary stock is overvalued considering it expects a small 2% increase at the midpoint to fiscal 2025 earnings.
Ross Stores rallies after earnings
Ross Stores (ROST) was another post-earnings winner, surging 7.8% after beating top- and bottom-line estimates in its first quarter.
"ROST's Q1 report suggests the company's underlying fundamentals remain fairly solid even as its core low-to-middle income customers experience meaningful macro pressure," says UBS Global Research analyst Jay Sole. Still, the analyst remains Neutral-rated (the equivalent of Hold) and sees "limited upside" from current levels.
As for the main indexes, the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1% to 16,920, the S&P 500 added 0.7% to 5,304, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a marginal gain to finish at 39,069. While the Nasdaq and S&P 500 extended their stretches of consecutive weekly gains to five, the Dow snapped its weekly win streak.
As a reminder, Monday is a stock market holiday with both the stock and bond markets closed for Memorial Day.
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