By Nick Godt
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks lost ground early on Tuesday, after a report showed consumer confidence fell in July. After briefly flirting with positive territory, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU 9,090, -18.21, -0.20%) was down 12 points, or 0.1%, at 9,095. The S&P 500 index (SPX 976.53, -5.65, -0.58%) fell 3.8 points, or 0.4%, to 977, while the Nasdaq Composite (COMP 1,960, -7.79, -0.40%) lost 5 points, or 0.3%, to 1,962. Consumer confidence took its second consecutive monthly drop in July, according to the Conference Board, which said its index dropped to 46.6 in July from an unrevised 49.3 in June. In May, the confidence gauge stood at 54.8. |
