Consumer confidence rises in September

What happened

The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its U.S. Consumer Confidence Index rose to 91.7, compared with an 80.4 consensus and 84.2 in September, which was revised from 81.9. The Present Situation Index gained 8.6 points to 120.4 and the Expectations Index gained 6.9 points to 72.6.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

Consumer confidence is a survey of how households feel about jobs and incomes. A higher reading can mean people are more willing to spend, which supports company revenue. Stronger expected demand may also encourage businesses to increase capital spending, which means money put into equipment and expansion.

Analyst inference

The result beat the 80.4 consensus by a wide margin and the September figure was revised up to 84.2, so the improvement partly reflects a higher starting point. Both the present and expectations parts rose, suggesting households felt better about now and the months ahead.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. The article is marked developing and says to check back for updates, so the reported figures may be revised or expanded with more detail later. Confirmed
2. Watch upcoming reports on household spending and retail sales to see whether the confidence gain turns into actual purchases rather than remaining a survey result. Proposed
3. Watch whether companies cite stronger consumer demand when discussing capital spending plans, since that is the channel through which confidence could reach revenue and costs. Analyst inference

Evidence

• seekingalpha.com