Consumer spending 'starting to see signs of distress': Strategist

Hennion & Walsh Chief Investment Officer Kevin Mahn discusses the current state of the American consumer.

You can see the entire interview here.

Key Video Takeaways

0:09 On concerning data on the fiscal health of the consumer

0:30 On the Fed's impact.

Video transcript

- We're starting to see signs of distress amongst the consumer. Remember, Seana, that the consumer accounts for 70% of our economic growth in our country. We saw that retail purchases have now fallen in three of the last four months. We also saw that spending on services were relatively flat in December. That was its worst reading in over a year. And now, consumers are starting to dip more into their personal savings and put more on their credit cards. How much longer can that last?

And if the Fed is not able to get inflation back down to their 2% target, which I don't believe they will come close to this year, well, inflation is going to continue to take a bite into the consumer's wallet. So that's why I have concerns about the strength of the US economy in the first half. I believe we'll likely deep into recessionary waters, but remember that markets and recessions don't always move in the same direction. And if you wait for the economy to improve, you may miss out on some of the best opportunities that the stock market has to offer.