Shares on Wall Street wandered Tuesday morning after a report showed the consumer confidence continue to erode last month. þþExchanges in Europe were higher on better-than-expected earnings and economic data from Germany. þþIn an index that reflects the mood of consumers, the Conference Board, a private research group, said that Americans’ confidence in the economy slipped further in July amid job worries. The Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 50.4 in July, down from the revised 54.3 in June. The decline follows a drop of nearly 10 points in June. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 51.0. þþConsumer confidence has waned in recent months primarily because of ongoing concern about high unemployment. With consumers not as confident as they were just a few months ago, their spending has slowed. Consumer spending accounts for a large portion of the nation’s economy. þþThe report overshadowed other mildly upbeat economic news. þþThe chemical maker DuPont easily beat second-quarter profit and revenue forecasts and raised its outlook for the year. DuPont joined a growing number of companies whose results have helped convince investors that the economy might not be slowing as much as investors thought. þþAnd the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price indexfor May rose 1.3 percent from April. The homebuyer’s tax credit that expired April 30 had an impact on the reading, and the report warned that the recent gains in home prices are not likely to last. þþThe Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.42 points. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index was down 1.06 points. The Nasdaq declined 5.60 points, or 0.24 percent. þþIn Europe, the FTSE 100 in London was up 20.03 points, or 0.37 percent, while the DAX in Frankfurt rose 21.18 points, or 0.34 percent. The CAC-40 in Paris was 37.50 points, or 1.03 percent, higher. þþSome major European banks, including UBS and Deutsche Bank, reported strong earnings. The results came a few days after regulators evaluated banks across the continent to see which would be likely to survive another economic downturn. Major European indexes rose following the earnings and another positive report on Germany’s economy. þþAn upbeat survey into Germany’s consumer confidence from the GfK institute also added weight to the argument that Europe’s largest economy is growing faster than most in the markets have been expecting. þþBP, contending with the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, is replacing its chief executive, Tony Hayward, with Robert Dudley, an American. The British oil company reported a record quarterly loss and set aside $32.2 billion to cover the costs of the spill. þþThe euro dipped just below the $1.30 mark after rising slightly above it earlier in the morning. It was below $1.20 in early June when investors were more concerned with the health of Europe’s economy. þþStocks fell worldwide in May and June because of worries that mounting government debt across Europe would stall a global recovery. Strong earnings from United States and European companies over the past two weeks have helped to ease those concerns. þþThe Dow has surged in July, rising 7.7 percent during the month. The sharp gains helped push the index back into the black for the year on Monday. In the past three trading days alone, the Dow has jumped 4 percent because of consistently strong earnings and outlooks. þþStocks got a lift Monday after a report on new home sales rose more than expected last month. The housing market has remained weak, particularly since a tax credit for home buyers expired at the end of April. þþMeanwhile, bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.04 percent from 2.99 percent late Monday. þþEarlier in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed up 133.48 points, or 0.6 percent, to 20,973.39 but Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average was off 6.81, less than 0.1 percent, to 9,496.85. þþThe Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.5 percent to 2,575.37. þ
Source: NY Times
