"Since the end of the pandemic, consumers have proved to be the backbone for the American economy-much to the surprise of some of Wall Street's biggest names. This underlying strength has pushed the U.S. stock market to record highs this year, with analysts pricing in continued growth of the S&P 500. But the ever-reliable consumer is beginning to look shaky, courtesy of an unpleasant mix of a stagnating jobs market and sticky inflation."
"What I'm reading in the markets right now is a market that's not anticipating any sort of a material drawback ... valuations do look to be pretty full, I think there's good optimism about earnings, about corporate profits, how that's going to continue to play out, and it looks to me like markets are expecting that we will continue to see robust demand on the consumer side, and the consumer w"
Since the pandemic, consumer spending has anchored the U.S. economy and has driven the stock market to record highs, with analysts pricing in continued S&P 500 growth. Consumer confidence is weakening as households grow increasingly worried about job prospects and rising prices amid a stagnating jobs market and tariff-driven inflation. Financial markets serve as signals that influence business decisions on raising capital and investments. Markets currently appear bullish, not pricing a material drawback, with full valuations and prevailing optimism about corporate earnings and profits, and expectations of continued robust consumer demand.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]