Retail Sales Surge, Jobless Claims Dive, Bank Earnings Impress Amid Growing Optimism

Retail Sales Surge, Jobless Claims Dive, Bank Earnings Impress Amid Growing Optimism

Round two of big bank earnings looked a lot like round one: A knockout. It's nice to not only see good earnings, but optimistic views going forward, which is very important this particular reporting season. Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) both easily topped analysts' expectations with their Q1 results, and that's not all. BlackRock BLK (BLK) and PepsiCo PEP (PEP) also had upbeat quarters. It's extremely early, but investors seem to like what they've seen so far from reporting companies, and major indices took the high road in pre-market trading Thursday after a forgettable performance the day before. There's nothing forgettable about today's surging retail sales and decreasing jobless claims. We'll get to those a bit farther down. Financials continued with really solid results and positive outlooks expressed in their calls this morning. We're off to a good start in earnings. Like other big banks reporting this week, BAC had a strong investment banking and trading quarter, with gains in both the equity and fixed income sides of the field. Earnings per share of $0. 86 easily surpassed Wall Street analysts' expectations for $0. 66, and revenue of $22. 9 billion topped the consensus view of $22. 1