Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major indices all show losses greater than 1.0%. The S&P 500 is about 75 points lower and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is more than 400 points lower.

The final University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment for March dropped to 57.0 (Briefing.com consensus 57.9) from the preliminary reading of 57.9. The final reading for February was 64.7. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 79.4.

The key takeaway from the report is that the Expectations Index has dropped more than 30% since November 2024. The decline in March featured a clear consensus across all demographic and political affiliations, citing worsening expectations for personal finances, business conditions, unemployment, and inflation.