By The numbers: A survey of consumer confidence dipped in April to 107.3 from 107.6, but Americans signaled they are optimistic enough about the economy to keep buying big-ticket items such as news cars and appliances.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast the index to total 108.5.
Key details: A measure of how consumers feel about the economy right now slid to 152.6 from from an eight-month high of 153.8 in the prior month, The Conference Board said Tuesday.
Yet a similar gauge that looks ahead six months rose to 77.2 from 76.7.
Market reaction: In early trades, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.66%
and S&P 500
SPX,
-1.16%
fell in Tuesday trades.
Stocks have pulled back recently due to signals from the Federal Reserve that it plans to raise interest rates rapidly to try to tame inflation.
