Consumer confidence dips, as does the stock market
WASHINGTON — American consumers felt less confident this month, but the small retreat came after confidence had risen to a 20-month high in September.
Consumer confidence slipped to 98.6 this month after rising to 103.5 in September, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The September reading was the highest since confidence stood at 103.8 in January 2015. The September confidence number was revised down from an initial estimate of 104.1, which had been the highest in nine years.
The lower October reading reflected a drop in consumers’ assessment of current business conditions and employment prospects.
Even with the small decline, consumer confidence was still at a level expected to support consumer spending and economic growth in coming months.
The number of consumers saying business conditions at present were good decreased moderately from 27.7 percent to 26.2 percent while those saying business conditions were bad rose from 15.8 percent to 17.7 percent.
On Wall Street Tuesday, shaky results from consumer companies such as paint and coatings maker Sherwin-Williams dragged the stock market lower as shares of well-known names like appliance maker Whirlpool and athletic apparel maker Under Armour suffered their worst declines in years.
But some companies, including Procter & Gamble, soared after their reports.