Move over real estate, Wall Street now drives U.S. spending

Fed data show US household net worth rose 7% q/q to $196T, driven by a $10.7T jump in equities, lifting stocks' share of financial assets to a record 46.6%. The news underscores a stronger equity-driven "wealth effect" supporting consumption, but also increases macro sensitivity to an equity drawdown, particularly in concentrated AI-linked leaders. Market focus may shift to breadth, volatility, and downside transmission into spending.