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Stocks (^GSPC, ^IXIC, ^DJI) are reacting to a dip in consumer sentiment, which is raising fresh concerns about the broader economic mood.
Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi joins Catalysts to share insights from top CEOs, including those at Bank of New York Mellon (BK) and JPMorgan (JPM), who are voicing growing concerns about consumer and business confidence amid rising uncertainty.
To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Catalysts here.
Suzy, really interesting to see this consumer sentiment data turning negative here, uh, at least in the market reaction, but I know that consumer sentiment is sort of what drives corporate earnings. And then you spend so much time talking to those corporate CEOs about how their sentiment is in this moment. What are they telling you?
Well, I'm not surprised, uh, disappointing consumer sentiment. Uh, I think what we're hearing from CEOs reflects this downbeat mood with US consumers. BNY Melon CEO, company came out this morning, uh, pretty solid earnings results for them. Got hopped on the media call, really interesting quote from BNY CEO Robin Vince telling me that it's this period of uncertainty, uh, where it's where businesses and consumers might lose their mojo. Quote mojo, I should say that Robin's saying that, you see that on the screen right there. He makes a good point, and I think that quote right there really underscores what you're seeing in the market, these big down days, but you get signs that might see improved confidence stocks tick back up. But then I got off that call, hopped on the media call with Jamie Diamond and his CFO Jeremy Barnham after their earnings this morning. Uh, I asked Jamie, how are things different now, Madison, compared to other periods of crisis during his many, or his very long career. He said he's seeing people pull back, not only, not only people, uh, middle income, middle, um, type businesses, middle-sized businesses, large-sized businesses, so there's Jamie Diamond's quote to Yahoo Finance here. So everything that the market has been trying to sniff out, Madison, with these big down days, we're starting to hear it from CEOs, and not just any CEOs, these are some of the biggest leaders in this country, leading some of the world's biggest banks. Now I will say this though, um, JP Morgan not seeing consumer spending weakness in April, important point there, but still when you hear Jamie Diamond saying companies are pulling back on investment, that's a red flag. Bigger picture, uh, here's what CEOs are telling me more broadly, and I think it really aligns with what I heard from Jamie Diamond and Robin Vince this morning. Uh, you see a lot of CEOs I talk to are frustrated that they do not have a direct line not only to the president, but a couple rungs down to get their message across. They're still dealing, I think, with a lot of advocates and DCs that may or may not have their best interests in heart. Uh, second up, trade uncertainty beginning to weigh on sales. I think he got that vibe from Jamie Diamond's comment to us this morning. Price increases will be coming, been talking to a lot of apparel CEOs. The interesting thing to watch is they're not yet ready to drop the hammer, Madison, with really big 10 to 20% price increases. Those price increases might be surgical until we get more clarity, uh, on tariff policy from the administration. And last but not least here, long-term investments are being discussed, not scrapped. If you are still planning to build a plant this year, next year, uh, those plans are continuing. It's more of a function, well, if you are going to build a plant five years from now in another country, do you continue to do that? That is what's up in the air.