Consumer stocks turn negative on year as inflation persists, economy stalls

Retail stocks are bucking the broader market's uptrend this year, hampered by consumer concerns and tariffs. The State Street SPDR S & P Retail ETF (XRT) fell for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, bringing its year-to-date performance to a slide of more than 1%. The broad S & P 500 , by comparison, is tracking to end 2025 up more than 12%. XRT .SPX YTD mountain XRT vs. S & P 500 in 2025 The retail fund is now poised to record its first losing year in three and second negative year of the last seven. A sizable chunk of the downturn has come since the start of October, with the ETF sliding more than 9% in the fourth quarter. CarMax shares are among those leading the drop with a plunge of more than 60% this year, while Abercrombie & Fitch and Shoe Carnival have each tumbled more than 50%.