Consumer sentiment stabilized this week after its second-largest two-month decline on record, aided by improved ratings of personal finances and the buying climate alike.

The halt in the Consumer Comfort Index’s descent comes as stock market indices have rallied to reach record highs after slumping from September to early October. Inflation pressures linger, with gasoline prices holding at a seven-year high. October’s jobs report comes Friday.

The CCI, conducted weekly since late 1985, steadied at 49.2 on its 0-100 scale, compared with 47.9 last week – not quite a statistically significant change but a respite after eight weeks of incremental declines totaling 10.3 points, its largest setback since the initial months of the pandemic. It’s 9.0 points short of its pandemic high in late August, while still up 4.8 points this year and 14.5 points above its nearly six-year low in May 2020.

The CCI subindex reflecting Americans’ assessments of whether or not it’s a good time to buy things is up 1.9 points this week after a 9.9-point loss the six weeks prior, a gain concentrated almost entirely among those with household incomes of $100,000 or more, up 7.0 points. At 41.9, the subindex is 8.8 points short of its pandemic peak in mid-June but up 13.1 points from its May 2020 pandemic low.

Personal finance ratings also have reversed ground, up 1.5 points after falling 10.1 points the previous nine weeks. At 62.4, this subindex is 8.6 points short of its 18-month high in late August, while still 9.6 points better than its four-year low in May 2020.

The CCI’s third gauge, based on views of the national economy, held at 43.3 this week, steady after a 12.1-point decline across eight weeks. The subindex is 11.5 points below its pandemic peak in late August, but still up 9.3 points this year and a wide 20.8 points from its pandemic low, also in May 2020.