Dive Summary:

• Victoria's Secret parent company Limited Brands, CostCo Wholesale and Steinmart all exceeded analysts expectations for February sales, fueling optimism that consumer confidence may be on the rise.
• The addition of a larger-than-expected 198,000 jobs by U.S. private employers in February also fueled an increase in the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index to 77.6 from 73.8 in January.
• Analysts expect 11 other retailers reporting February sales this week to report a 3.3% same-store sales increase.

From the article:

After a difficult January, when shoppers first felt the effect of a payroll tax hike that lowered take-home pay by 2 percent, at least some retailers got a little relief in February from growing employment and a rising stock market. ...