Retailers rise but market sags
Bareksa • 26 Feb 2014
Stocks end lower as retailers fail to lift the rest of the market; Home price gains slowing, consumers brooding; Weather slow Home Depot, Macy's sales but rebound expected; Tesla snags top honor (REUTERS/Conway G. Gittens)
Consumers did not have anything good to say about the future of the economy in February
Reuters - Stocks drifted lower on Tuesday but the retail sector was higher thanks to optimistic outlooks. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each posting modest losses. Home prices were slightly down in December, the second drop in a row, and big city year-over-year gains remained atop 13 percent, but the rate of price gains is slowing, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Index. Meanwhile, consumers did not have anything good to say about the future of the economy in February, but were much more confident in current conditions, as seen in a survey by the Conference Board. That may bode well for consumer activity in coming months, cold weather or not.