Shares of shopping centre behemoth Westfield Corp Ltd (ASX: WFD) have enjoyed a very solid fortnight, with the stock up an impressive 8.8% at $7.92. This compares to an 8.6% rise from Scentre Group Ltd (ASX: SCG) and a 6.6% rise from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO).
The stock is now trading at its highest price since its inception into the ASX in June, which was a result of the global restructure of Westfield Group and Westfield Retail Trust.
Although there has been no company-specific news which would explain the stock's recent jump, the recovery of global equity markets, as well as optimism in the US economy, are the likely driving forces. For instance, the US Federal Reserve will cease pumping money into financial markets based on the belief the economy is now strong enough to support itself, while the nation's GDP figures also rose at an annualised rate of 3.5% in the third quarter.
Improvements have also been seen in the nation's labour market which should help drive consumer spending over the coming years. Indeed, this will fare well for retailers and for shopping centre operators such as Westfield.