Stock Market Update
17-Jul-26 10:30 ET
July University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index
Dow -29.42
at 52523.55,
Nasdaq -338.59
at 25564.36,
S&P -45.89
at 7487.88
[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.3%), and DJIA (flat) are off their worst opening levels, though mega-cap tech and semiconductor stocks remain under pressure.
The preliminary reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for July increased to 54.4 (Briefing.com consensus: 50.7) from the final reading of 49.5 for June. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 61.7.
The key takeaway from the report was the correlation between lower gas prices and higher sentiment, the latter of which was pervasive across groups by age, wealth, income, and political party. Gas prices, though, have started to increase again with the military action between the U.S. and Iran, so it remains to be seen if this improved sentiment can be sustained.
