WANT - Retail in focus as Black Friday shopping kicks off

Today marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season as investors size up Black Friday to determine the current mood of the U.S. consumer. While fears of a new COVID variant are overshadowing the shopping bonanza, many consumers will still be looking around for bargains. A variety of reports have boosted and hampered the retail sector in recent weeks, making it hard to size up an industry heavily exposed to supply chain disruptions. Flashback: Shares of Gap and Nordstrom slumped 20% in AH trading on Wednesday after slashing their outlooks on COVID-related factory closures and labor costs that cut into profits. On the other hand, Kohls jumped more than 10% from a week ago - after reporting strong sales growth - while retail executives spoke extensively on how they were managing supply chain issues and inflation. Personal incomes and consumer spending for October also came in higher than expected, though core PCE, the

For further details see:

Retail in focus as Black Friday shopping kicks off