Pixabay Summary Of the Markets Today:

*Stock data, cryptocurrency, and commodity prices at the market closing. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 7.3% in February 2024, up from a 6.6% increase in the previous month. Not good news for those who do not own a house. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® deteriorated for the third consecutive month in April 2024, retreating to 97.0 (1985=100) from a downwardly revised 103.1 in March. Despite these three months of weakness, the gauge continues to move sideways within a relatively narrow range that’s largely held steady for more than two years. Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist at The Conference Board stated:Confidence retreated further in April, reaching its lowest level since July 2022 as consumers became less positive about the current labor market situation, and more concerned about future business conditions, job availability, and income. Despite April’s dip in the overall index, since mid-2022, optimism about the present situation continues to more than offset concerns about the future. In the month, confidence declined among consumers of all age groups and almost all income groups except for the $25,000 to $49,999 bracket. Nonetheless, consumers under 35 continued to express greater confidence than those over 35. In April, households with incomes below $25,000 and those with incomes above $75,000 reported the largest deteriorations in confidence. However, over a six-month basis, confidence for consumers earning less than $50,000 has been stable, but confidence among consumers earning more has weakened. The Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago PMI, dropped to 37.9 in April 2024, down from 41.4 in the prior month and below market forecasts of 45. The latest reading indicated that Chicago’s economic activity contracted for the fifth successive month in April, and at a robust pace, marking the strongest decline since November 2022. The markets look to the Chicago PMI as a forward indicator of the ISM Manufacturing Index which will be released tomorrow. The Chicago PMI is showing a terrible manufacturing picture.  Here is a summary of headlines we are reading today:

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