Money World economy
Stocks fell after the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 53.1 in September. That was down from 54.5 in August and much lower than the reading of 57 that economists had been expecting.
The private research group attributed the drop to concerns about the labour market, saying consumers are still worried about losing their jobs. Consumer confidence has been a focus for the stock market in recent months, and many analysts warn a turnaround in the economy won't hold if consumers don't start picking up spending and employers add jobs.
The report offset early enthusiasm over a third straight monthly increase in home prices.
Stocks broke a three-day losing streak Monday after news of several big acquisitions signalled to investors that corporate America is feeling more confident about the economy and willing to take on more risk.
"Stock has been moving aggressively up," said Lawrence Creatura, portfolio manager at Federated Clover Investment Advisors. "It's natural for investors to want to lock in some of those gains as we end the quarter."
The Dow Jones industrials fell 47.16, or 0.5%, to 9,742.20, chipping away part of Monday's 124-point gain. The S&P 500 index slipped 2.37, or 0.2%, to 1,060.61, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 6.70, or 0.3%, to 2,124.04.
Oil prices continued their fall on the growing belief that the economy won't be strong enough to lift demand as much as expected.
