Stocks Fluctuate After 2 Economic Reports
Stocks are fluctuating after two reports pointed to a weaker economy.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 50.4 in July. Economists had forecast it to drop to 51.
Consumer 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.
And the Richmond Federal Reserve issued a report showing that regional manufacturing has slowed.
The news at least for the moment distracted traders from the day's strong earnings reports, including results from DuPont Co. and European banks UBS AG and Deutsche Bank AG.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up less than a point at 10,525. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down less than a point at 1,114, while the Nasdaq composite index is down 4 at 2,291.
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