US stock market ekes out record as retail sales rise, China's economy grows with shadow banking

The US stock market made a new record high on Monday, but barely. The S&P 500 rose 0.07 point to 1,633.77 but about seven stocks declined for every five that advanced.

While investors curbed their buying on Monday, consumers resumed spending in April. US retail sales rose 0.1 percent last month after having fallen 0.5 percent in March.

The extent of the improvement in retail sales was masked by lower gasoline prices. Excluding gasoline sales, retail sales rose 0.7 percent in April.

Earlier on Monday, data from China also showed improvement in the economy.

Industrial output in China rose 9.3 percent in April, accelerating from an increase of 8.9 percent in March.

Fixed-asset investment rose 20.6 percent in the first four months of the year, slightly down from 20.9 percent in the first three months.

Retail sales rose 12.8 per cent year-on-year in April, up from a 12.6 percent increase in March.

Real estate investment rose 21.1 percent in the first four months of 2013 from a year earlier, accelerating from an increase of 20.2 in the first quarter. Revenues from property sales in the first four months eased slightly to 59.8 percent though after having surged 61.3 percent in the first three months.

Helping to boost property and other investment in China has been a rise in shadow banking activities. According to Moody's, China's shadow banking activities have risen 67 percent since the end of 2010, reaching an estimated total of 29 trillion yuan at the end of last year, equivalent to 55 percent of China's GDP.