Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The major averages are maintaining their solid opening gains. There is some weakness in the defensive utilities (-0.8%) and consumer staples (-0.3%) sectors as growth stocks rebound today, but strength remains broad elsewhere.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased to 91.8 in March (Briefing.com consensus: 88.0) from 91.2 in February. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 93.9.

The key takeaway from the report is that the headline numbers don't convey any abject concern among consumers about the Iran war, yet that concern showed up in higher 12-month inflation expectations, which jumped to 6.2% from 5.5% in February, marking the highest level since August 2025.