What to watch

Will confidence take hit from Trump’s woes?

The election of President Trump, who ran on an economic agenda seen as boosting growth, resulted in a surge of confidence among consumers, small-business owners and investors.

But with Trump’s political troubles growing amid the fallout from the firing of FBI director James Comey and questions about his campaign’s ties to Russia, it will be interesting to see if confidence levels dip.

The first confidence test will be revealed in the stock market, which stabilized Thursday with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 56 points after suffering a 373-point decline — its biggest drop in eight months — a day earlier. What investors do with their investment dollars signals how upbeat they are about the prospects for the economy and investment returns. If stocks continue to rebound, it would signal investors haven’t given up on Trump getting his proposals, such as tax cuts and infrastructure spending, enacted by Congress.

Other data points to watch: the University of Michigan’s final release on May consumer sentiment set for release May 26; and the Conference Board’s report on May consumer confidence May 30. (Confidence in April was still hovering near a 16-year high.)

In early June, payroll processor ADP reports how many jobs private employers created in May, and the government releases its May jobs report, following strong job gains of 211,000 in April. Small-business optimism for May is set for release June 13.