"This number was terrible. The U.S. consumer is holding the global economy on its shoulders. After seeing today's data, we better hope it was a one-month outlier and that the rebound in stocks in January and month to date will revive consumer spending."

-Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, commenting in a research note following Thursday’s report by The Commerce Department that U.S. retail sales declined 1.2 percent in December, the largest monthly drop since September 2009, according to a report by CNBC.