Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (+0.1%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%), and DJIA (-0.6%) continue to sit mixed, though sector strength now tilts positive with six S&P 500 sectors trading higher. 

The final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment reading for January increased to 56.0 (Briefing.com consensus: 54.0) from the preliminary reading of 54.0 and the final reading of 52.9 for December. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 71.7.

The key takeaway from the report is that consumer sentiment, while improved a bit, is still guarded due to lingering concerns about high prices and softening labor markets.