A survey of 131 CEOs by The Conference Board and The Business Council, conducted Sept. 21 to Oct. 5, shows the CEO Confidence measure fell six points to 46 from 52, its lowest since the second quarter of 2025. The share of CEOs expecting conditions to worsen over the next six months more than doubled to 41% from 19%, while only 13% expect improvement, down from 25%. The gloom mirrors consumers, whose preliminary October sentiment fell to 46.3, near a record low, with one-year inflation expectations rising to 4.7%, after September consumer prices rose 3.7% annually and gasoline jumped 9.1%. Still, most executives have not cut investment plans, with 53% expecting no change in capital spending and 36% planning increases, while hiring plans were split between 33% expanding and 31% reducing.
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Related tickers and likely impact
QQQ
▼ Likely negativeInvesco QQQ Trust
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/14/2026 | 728.95 |
| Change that session | -1.97% |
SPY
▼ Likely negativeSPDR S&P 500 ETF
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/14/2026 | 769.60 |
| Change that session | -1.08% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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