The index plunged a record 134 points in May, to +4, the lowest it has been in nearly seven years. This comes after registering a 20-year high of +138 in the first quarter of 2020.

The latest index score is based on a nationwide poll of U.S. investors, conducted May 11-17 — just days after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported an unprecedented decline of 20.5 million jobs in April. The poll coincided with a volatile week in the markets, including a nearly 1,000-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average toward the start of the seven-day field period.