The stock market wavered after the University of Michigan’s latest survey saw a surge in inflation expectations.
The market dropped, recovered, then fell again in the wake of the report. The Dow dropped 200 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6%. All three were trading higher prior to the report.
The University of Michigan said its index of consumer sentiment fell to a 50.8 reading in April, down from 57 in March. Economists polled by FactSet were expecting a 54 reading.
Year-ahead inflation expectations spiked to 6.7% from 5%. That’s the highest year-ahead inflation expectations have been since 1981.
“This decline was, like the last month’s, pervasive and unanimous across age, income, education, geographic region, and political affiliation,” said Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu. “Consumers report multiple warning signs that raise the risk of recession: expectations for business conditions, personal finances, incomes, inflation, and labor markets all continued to deteriorate this month.”
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was up to 4.53%. The 30-year yield was up to 4.95%. The U.S. Dollar Index was down 1.1%.
