More consumers are turning to deals as inflation bites.
Transcript:
CONWAY GITTENS: I’m Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
The Dow’s winning streak keeps on going. Blue chips racked up their seventh straight day of gains on Thursday. Stocks were up across the board as the biggest jump in jobless claims since August fueled rate cut hopes. The Dow finished up more than 300 points, the S&P 500 up about a half a percent, and the Nasdaq closed two-tenths of a percent higher.
Earnings season is winding down, so economic data will be more scrutinized for clues on what will happen with interest rates. On Friday, Wall Street will get the latest look at the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index.
Ahead of that, there are several signs pointing to a consumer who is far from happy. A new Gallup poll finds the number of Americans who think this is a good time to buy a house remains at an all-time low. Potential homebuyers say historic home prices and costly mortgage rates are keeping the dream of owning a home out of reach. Current mortgage rates are twice as high as they were before the start of the pandemic.
But staying a renter is painful, too. For many Americans, rental prices have outstripped wage gains. Rents went up more than 30 percent nationwide between 2019 and 2023, but paychecks grew by only 20 percent, according to analysis by Zillow and StreetEasy.
And the steep cost of housing and other necessities are forcing Americans to adjust their budgets. More consumers are turning to the internet to go bargain hunting for groceries and personal care items. Online retail sales grew to nearly $332 billion between January and April, and according to Adobe Analytics, the share of those dollars going to cheaper groceries jumped to 48 percent last month. That number was only 36 percent pre-pandemic.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
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