It’s not just this morning’s jobs report, but we got robust results on Consumer Sentiment, which continues to soar.

Consumer Sentiment University of Michigan	Dec	Nov	Dec	M-M	Y-Y
	2019	2019	2018	Change	Change
Index of Consumer Sentiment	99.2	96.8	98.3	+2.5%	+0.9%
Current Economic Conditions	115.2	111.6	116.1	+3.2%	-0.8%
Index of Consumer Expectations	88.9	87.3	87.0	+1.8%	+2.2%

 

Consumer Sentiment

Highlights

Only 1% mention impeachment.  Partisan Divide is a killer.  If more consumers could park their feelings for President Trump, this economy would be even higher.

Average gap between Democrats & GOP

• 8.7 points during Obama
• 41.6 points under Trump

The great news is Independents, the largest group, hold very favorable expectations, which according to the authors of the report indicate continued expansion.

Inflation expectations decreased to 2.4% for 2020 and 2.3% long term, both from 2.5%.

Message of Market

News from OPEC largely overshadowed, but it is powering energy stocks higher.  Financials are leading the way, and Industrials are higher as investors seek value. 

S&P 500 Index	+1.04%
Communication Services (XLC)	+0.57%
Consumer Discretionary (XLY)	+1.00%
Consumer Staples (XLP)	+0.68%
Energy (XLE)	+2.01%
Financials (XLF)	+1.59%
Health Care (XLV)	+0.92%
Industrials (XLI)	+1.31%
Materials (XLB)	+1.08%
Real Estate (XLRE)	+0.35%
Technology (XLK)	+1.07%
Utilities (XLU)	+0.02%

The market could meander at these levels, but the underlying fundamentals continue to improve. 

Have a great weekend. 

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