Sagging consumer discretionary shares look for a spark

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves, France, November 5, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

NEW YORK: The strength of the US consumer has been often cited as a pillar of the economy and one of the reasons the S&P 500 has recently scaled new heights, but consumer discretionary stocks have skipped the party for several months.

The S&P consumer discretionary sector hit a record high on July 15. But while the S&P 500 has continued to climb to new highs, discretionary stocks have gone in the opposite direction, falling nearly 4%.