Wall St Week Ahead:

Elevated U.S. interest rates are pressuring the U.S. retail sector, where shares of many companies have been dented by months of tight monetary policy while a select few have soared.

The S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail index, is up nearly 14% this year, roughly keeping pace with the S&P 500’s year-to-date gain. Much of the sector’s strength, however, has been concentrated in a small group of stocks, including heavyweight Amazon.com which is up nearly 21% this year.

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Meanwhile, shares of companies focused on lower-income consumers have struggled, in-part because buyers in that segment have been more affected by elevated interest rates, analysts said. Among the biggest laggards are shares of Dollar Tree which are down nearly 27% year-to-date and Dollar General which have fallen nearly 9%.

The retail sector is one of several areas of the economy - in addition to real estate and consumer staples - that have been pressured by elevated rates.