Consumer, Food, & Beverage Sector Update: Q2 2017

"With the first half of 2017 complete, we continue to see strong gains in the market as a whole.  The S&P continues to climb, up 7.3% since the start of the year.  The consumer sector has generally followed the broader market over the first half of the year. Beverage, Consumer Products, and Restaurants subsectors have recorded gains of 7.3%, 4.6%, and 3.6%, respectively.  Meanwhile, the Inputs subsector has remained relatively flat at 0.2%.  Last, the Food subsector experienced a decline of 2.0% since the beginning of the year.  Key economic indicators, including the unemployment rate, consumer price index (CPI), interest rates, and producer price index (PPI) overall point to an expanding economy and continued increasing consumer confidence and spending."