Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures divert after tough week as Bessent dismisses sell-off

National readings on consumer and business confidence have shown signs of weakness as markets sink and Trump’s trade war takes shape, and the regional data isn’t much better.

On Monday, the New York Fed’s reading on manufacturing activity in New York State showed a sharp pullback this month, with the reading’s headline business conditions index falling to -20 from a reading of 5.7 in February.

The index is calculated by subtracting the percent of respondents reporting lower confidence about conditions from those reporting higher confidence on the business outlook.

This reading marks the lowest for the survey since Jan. 2024.

“Manufacturing activity dropped significantly in New York State in March,” said Richard Deitz, economic research advisor at the NY Fed. “Input price increases climbed for a third straight month to hit their fastest pace in more than two years. In addition, supply availability is expected to contract and firms continued to grow less optimistic about the future business outlook.”

The survey was conducted between March 3-11.