Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] Up-and down action in the major averages ultimately leaves us little changed over the prior half hour following the release of the March Treasury Budget which hit at the bottom of the hour. Currently, the S&P 500 (-3.11%) is in second place, down about 169 points.

The Treasury Budget for March showed a deficit of $160.5 billion compared to a deficit of $236.6 billion in the same period a year ago. The March deficit resulted from outlays ($528.2 billion) exceeding receipts ($367.6 billion). The Treasury Budget data are not seasonally adjusted so the March deficit cannot be compared to the February deficit of $307.0 billion.

The key takeaway from the report is that the deficit now stands at a record $1.31 trln through the first half of the fiscal year, marking the second-largest mid-fiscal-year deficit, trailing only the COVID-era $1.71 trillion deficit in the first half of fiscal 2021.