Weak consumer confidence dampens NASDAQ spirit
New York: The NASDAQ composite index was down 100.71 points at 2,207.79 on Tuesday reacting to the news that consumer confidence has fallen to a more than four-year low. At close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 5.58 points at 10,636.95. Tech stocks remained under pressure as investors punished stocks they feared would perform poorly in a weak economy.

On Tuesday, the Conference Board, a business-supported research group, reported that its Consumer Confidence Index had dropped to 106.8, its lowest level in more than four years because of increasing pessimism about jobs and the economy. Drop in the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index is however believed to increase pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates before its March 20 meeting to stimulate the sluggish economy.

The US commerce department also reported that orders to US factories for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in January to their lowest level in 19 months, and that new home sales declined by 10.9 per cent in January, the biggest drop in seven years.
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