Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages remain largely unchanged near their baselines.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh reiterated that while the employment side of the Fed's mandate is doing well, the numbers are more concerning on the price-stability side. Mr. Warsh noted, " The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the 12-month change in the PCE price index, stands at 3.7 percent, while the six-month change is 4.1 percent. The comparable measures from the consumer price index are also elevated, as are the core measures of both PCE and CPI inflation. None of these measures are perfect, but they all tell a similar story: Inflation is running above our 2 percent target. So the Fed's predominant focus right now should be on prices."

Separately, the final reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for August increased to 51.7 (Briefing.com consensus: 51.0) from the preliminary reading of 51.0. The final reading for July was 55.2. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 58.2.

The key takeaway from the report is that persistent inflation concerns are undercutting consumer sentiment.