What happened
Shares of Groupon (GRPN -0.61%) climbed today after the Commerce Department released new data showing that U.S. retail sales popped in May. Groupon's stock rose as much as 14.1% in the morning, and as of 12:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, it was up 10.7%.
So what
Investors have been looking for any sign that the economy could be getting back on track, and today's retail numbers gave them a glimmer of hope. U.S. retail sales jumped 17.7% in May after falling 14.7% in April.
The jump comes as more states have eased lockdown restrictions and are slowly allowing more businesses to reopen. It's worth mentioning, though, that retail sales spiked on a sequential basis; May's retail sales were still down 6.1% from a year ago.
Image source: Getty Images.
Investors may also be optimistic about Groupon and other stocks today after a report showing that an inexpensive steroid drug was shown to help reduce deaths in severely ill COVID-19 patients.
The broader market was gaining ground today, with the S&P 500 rising 1.8% as of 12:16 p.m. EDT.
Now what
Groupon investors have experienced some wild share-price swings lately. The most recent came just six days ago when the stock fell by more than 12% after the online provider of shopping deals and coupons announced a reverse stock split. Despite today's jump, Groupon's stock is still reeling from the pandemic and is down 62% over the past 12 months, compared with the S&P 500's 8% gain.
