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Stocks responded unfavorably in Tuesday's trading to news that consumer confidence and housing prices had fallen in recent weeks.
The market fell more than 80 points on Tuesday, the latest sign of stalled momentum in a rally that had seen considerable gains over the past couple of months.
Part of the reason for the decline was a report from The Conference Board showing that its monthly consumer confidence index had fallen back to 49.3 after rebounding to 54.8 in May. A score of 100 on the index is comparable to economic conditions as they stood in 1985, when the index was started.
The Conference Board also found that consumers were somewhat less optimistic about their prospects both in the short term and longer term, and that they were also finding jobs somewhat more difficult to find.
Another piece of questionable economic news came in the form of a Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller report showing that housing prices had fallen 18 percent last month. Still, that report offered some mixed prospects for the longer term considering how it still represented a somewhat smaller decline than has been recorded in recent months.
By Steve Monfort
Stocks react to shaky economic confidence
Stocks responded unfavorably in Tuesday's trading to news that consumer confidence and housing prices had fallen in recent weeks. The market fell more than 80 points on Tuesday, the latest sign of stalled momentum in a rally that had seen considerable gains over the past couple of months.
Part of the reason for the decline was a report from The Conference Board showing that its monthly consumer confidence index had fallen back to 49.3 after rebounding to 54.8 in May. A score of 100 on the index is comparable to economic conditions as they stood in 1985, when the index was started.
The Conference Board also found that consumers were somewhat less optimistic about their prospects both in the short term and longer term, and that they were also finding jobs somewhat more difficult to find.
Another piece of questionable economic news came in the form of a Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller report showing that housing prices had fallen 18 percent last month. Still, that report offered some mixed prospects for the longer term considering how it still represented a somewhat smaller decline than has been recorded in recent months.
By Steve Monfort
