Consumer Confidence Ticks Up, But Worries Remain
The markets are seeing a hit after less than sparkling consumer confidence reports shows that consumers remain worrisome about the state of the economy.
The Consumer Confidence Index increased slightly to 49.5 in November, from the revised figure of 48.7 for October. The October numbers were revised from the original report of 47.7. The numbers were better than expected, as analysts forecasted 47.0.
Early trading has the Dow Jones industrial average down 28 to 10,422, while the Standard & Poor's 500 is down 2 to 1,104. The Nasdaq composite index is also down 10 to 2,166.
According to the consumer survey, people are not expecting the job market to improve anytime soon as more than 7.3 million jobs have been lost since December of 2007. The latest unemployment numbers form October showed a jobless rate of 10.2 percent, a 26-year high.
Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said that "income expectations remain very pessimistic and consumers are entering the holiday season in a very frugal mood."
Adding to the stress on the market Tuesday is the revised numbers coming from the Commerce Department that the Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.8 percent, down from the report of a 3.5 percent growth reported a month ago.
While the data does still show that the economy is growing for the first time in more than a year, the revised numbers did reveal that consumer spending in the automotive industry in September was lower than previously expected.
While the GDP growth was the largest in two years, the consumer is likely to remain sluggish as unemployment remains rampant and the reduction continues in government backed stimulus packages.
The Consumer Confidence Index increased slightly to 49.5 in November, from the revised figure of 48.7 for October. The October numbers were revised from the original report of 47.7. The numbers were better than expected, as analysts forecasted 47.0.
Early trading has the Dow Jones industrial average down 28 to 10,422, while the Standard & Poor's 500 is down 2 to 1,104. The Nasdaq composite index is also down 10 to 2,166.
According to the consumer survey, people are not expecting the job market to improve anytime soon as more than 7.3 million jobs have been lost since December of 2007. The latest unemployment numbers form October showed a jobless rate of 10.2 percent, a 26-year high.
Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said that "income expectations remain very pessimistic and consumers are entering the holiday season in a very frugal mood."
Adding to the stress on the market Tuesday is the revised numbers coming from the Commerce Department that the Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.8 percent, down from the report of a 3.5 percent growth reported a month ago.
While the data does still show that the economy is growing for the first time in more than a year, the revised numbers did reveal that consumer spending in the automotive industry in September was lower than previously expected.
While the GDP growth was the largest in two years, the consumer is likely to remain sluggish as unemployment remains rampant and the reduction continues in government backed stimulus packages.
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