2010 S&P poised for record low

U.S. stocks tumbled Tuesday, with the S&P 500 Index poised for its lowest finish this year, as U.S. consumer confidence fell more than anticipated in June, adding to worries about a global slowdown. This is all part of the global economy we’re worried about, there just isn’t enough growth around to generate steady job growth and after falling nearly 300 points, the Dow Jones was down 248.04 points, or 2.4%, to 9,890.48, with all 30 of its components in the red.

The Dow last fell below 10,000 on June 10, and closed below the psychologically important level the prior day. Current US stock prices and market watch. 

Industrial companies and natural-resource firms were among the hardest hit after the Conference Board revised downward its leading economic index for China. China stock picks that should be on your watchlist. 

The Conference Board, a private research group based in New York, said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index dropped almost 10 points to 52.9, down from the revised 62.7 in May. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had been expecting the reading to dip slightly to 62.8.

June’s reading marked the biggest drop since February, when the index fell 10 points. The index had risen for three straight months since then.

Both components of the index — one that measures how consumers feel now about the economy, the other that assesses their outlook over the next six months — dropped. The Present Situation Index decreased to 25.5 in June from 29.8 in May. The Expectations Index declined to 71.2 from 84.6.

A key issue is jobs. The Labor Department is expected to report on Friday that employers eliminated 110,000 jobs in June, and the jobless rate is expected to tick up slightly to 9.8 percent, from 9.7 percent in May, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. That follows a bleak report in May, which showed employers added 431,000 jobs but the vast majority were temporary census positions.

Retailers had a surprisingly solid start to the year as consumers felt better as their stock portfolios rose, but since April, business has slowed. Hastings believes the sluggishness continued into June. He believes sweltering heat in this past month wilted sales of summer’s trendy fashions as consumers stuck to buying the basics like shorts and tank tops to keep cool.