By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. consumer sentiment dipped in early March, according to media reports on Friday of the Reuters/University of Michigan index.
Amid signs that the labor market is approaching a trough but remains frail, the consumer sentiment index declined to 72.5 in March from 73.6 in February. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been expecting the sentiment index to hit 74 in March.
Consumer sentiment is "meandering," wrote Ian Pollick, economics strategist with TD Securities, in a research note.
"In the final analysis, the message of this report continues to be that consumer sentiment is meandering, likely waiting for a catalyst to push them into a prolonged phase of heightened optimism on the economic environment," Pollick wrote.
While Congress is working on several job-stimulus proposals, recent readings on confidence have found persistent pessimism among Americans about their economic prospects and labor market.
The Michigan current conditions index fell to 80.8 from 81.8, while the consumer expectations reading dipped to 67.2 from 68.4. One-year inflation expectations rose to 2.8% in March from 2.7% in February. The five-year outlook remained at 2.7%
Elsewhere Friday, U.S. stocks opened higher as investors were cheered by an unexpected jump in February's U.S. retail sales. Read more about stock gains. Led by a big gain in electronics, U.S. retail sales increased 0.3% to a seasonally-adjusted $355.5 billion in February, despite three major snow storms in the East, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. Read more about retail sales.
