Is it any wonder that stocks have stagnated today?
(Reuters) - Consumer confidence has fallen further after weeks of intensified economic concerns and broad stock market declines, and Conference Board data due later this month could be even weaker than current projections suggest, Consumer Edge Research said on Monday.
Readings from high, middle and low-income consumers all deteriorated sharply, due mainly to dramatic declines in outlook, the independent equity research firm said.
The firm's Consumer Economic Index is now at 45.4, down 10 percentage points from July and down 1.5 points from the 46.9 level it reported on August 10. Two days after that report, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary August reading showed that U.S. consumer sentiment had fallen to its lowest point since May 1980.
The 45.4 reading is the lowest since Consumer Edge Research began its index in March 2010.
Consumer Edge Research forecast that the Conference Board's full-month Consumer Confidence Index would deteriorate 8 to 10 percentage points from an unadjusted 59.5 in July when its report is issued on August 30.
As of Friday, consensus was calling for a 2.5 percentage point decline, "so we believe there is downside risk to current expectations," Consumer Edge Research said.
