Wall Street will find out how big the short-term hit to confidence has been when the University of Michigan releases its first October reading on consumer confidence Friday shortly after stocks open for trading here.
"It will give us the first look into how the government shutdown is impacting the sentiment of consumers," says Paul Hickey, co-founder of Bespoke Investment Group.
If it weren't for the government shutdown, now deep into its second week, economists would have expected confidence to rise a bit. Indeed, gas prices at the pump have been coming down this month, interest rates have pulled back from their Sept. 5 high and initial jobless claims, though up Thursday, remain near six-year lows.
"However, the government shutdown is likely to have weighed on sentiment," adds Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics.
Top 5 Clean Energy Companies To Own In Right Now
Wall Street expects the Michigan consumer confidence preliminary October reading to come in at 76, says Bespoke. That's below the 77.5 final September reading. But some Wall Street firms expect confidence to dip even more.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is expecting confidence to fall to 74, and Capital Economics is betting on 75, which would mark a nine-month low.
"The showdown in Washington is not just (affecting) the stock market," says Hickey.
No comments:
Post a Comment