S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) retail shares are broadly sliding today, despite some upbeat sales figures just released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
In its monthly estimate of turnover and volumes for retail businesses – including in-store and online sales – the ABS said that May's figures were up 0.9% from April. That's as year-on-year retail turnover and volumes increased 10.4%.
This marks the fifth consecutive month of growth across the retail industry.
Yet, as we look at below, ASX 200 retail shares aren't enjoying the tailwinds today.
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ASX 200 retail shares in the red
To put today's selling pressure into some context, the ASX 200 is also in the red, down 1.08% in early afternoon trading. That follows some big losses in US markets yesterday (overnight Aussie time), with the S&P 500 closing down 2%.
And that selling is hitting ASX 200 retail shares today, despite the sector's strong sales numbers.
The Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price, for example, is down 1.76% at the time of writing. Wesfarmers owns Bunnings Warehouse, Kmart Australia, and Officeworks, among others. The company has a market cap of around $48 billion.
Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN) isn't being spared today either. The electronics, appliances, furniture, and homeware retailer is down 3%, with a current market cap of $4.65 billion.
The electronics segment is also feeling the pressure today, as witnessed by the 1.46% decline in ASX 200 retail share JB Hi Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH). JB Hi Fi has a market cap of $4.1 billion.
We'll leave off with specialty fashion retailer Premier Investments Ltd (ASX: PMV), which owns chains including Smiggle, Just Jeans, Jacqui E, and Dotti, with a footprint in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and Europe. The Premier share price is down 3.19%, giving it a current market cap of just over $3 billion.
