{"id":7283,"date":"2023-08-14T09:17:19","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T15:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/?post_type=oi_article&p=7283"},"modified":"2023-08-15T09:27:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T15:27:23","slug":"market-commentary-august-14th","status":"publish","type":"oi_article","link":"https:\/\/www.keystonefinancial.com\/articles\/market-commentary-august-14th","title":{"rendered":"Market Commentary | August 14, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Consumer sentiment is a lagging indicator. It\u2019s also a contrarian indicator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After rising sharply in June and July, consumer sentiment leveled off this month. The preliminary August reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index <\/em>was 71.2. That\u2019s slightly below July\u2019s reading, although it\u2019s up 22.3 percent year-over-year, and up 42 percent from its all-time low of 50 (June 2022). The historic average for the Index is 86.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn general, consumers perceived few material differences in the economic environment from last month, but they saw substantial improvements relative to just three months ago. Year-ahead inflation expectations edged down from 3.4% last month to 3.3% this month, showing remarkable stability for three consecutive months,\u201d wrote Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey provides information related to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consumer sentiment is a lagging indicator because it can take several months for changes in economic activity to be felt by consumers. This type of sentiment also is considered a contrarian indicator. John Rekenthaler of Morningstar explained, \u201cWhen people are deeply unhappy, stocks are likely to thrive, because the economic damage that bothers them has already occurred. A contented populace, on the other hand, is the investment equivalent of red sky at morning. Equity shareholders, take warning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mixed inflation data caused markets to stumble last week. The Standard & Poor\u2019s 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices finished lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved slightly higher, reported Barron\u2019s<\/em>. Yields on U.S. Treasury notes and bonds rose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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