Consumer Confidence, Richmond Fed Manufacturing Point To Recovery

Consumer confidence is at a new recent high of 94.5, versus a revised 89.0 in September. This surpasses the previous recent high of 93.4 in August. The index was last this strong in October 2007, just before the financial crisis began in earnest. The surge in the headline data was almost completely due to a huge spike in future expectations from 83.7 to 95.0, which is the highest since the February 2011 future expectations reading of 97.5. The strength in expectations reflects optimism in the outlook for jobs and income. The present situation component rose 0.07 of a percent to 93.7, although still a strong reading. Inflation expectations were virtually flat, marking up only a tenth of a percent. The Richmond Fed Manufacturing index also came in strong, with a print of 20 versus consensus expectations of 10. This also compared favorably to the September reading of 14, highlighting strength in economic conditions. Overall, the S&P 500 futures reacted favorably to both reports, moving higher by 2.50 points.