The Conference Board released a report showing that its consumer confidence index fell to 49.3 in June from a revised 54.8 in May. The decrease surprised economists, who had expected the index to edge up to 55.3 from the 54.9 originally reported for the previous month.
Since then, significant weakness has emerged in a variety of sectors, with gold stocks posting particularly steep losses amid a notable decrease by the price of the precious metal. Airline, healthcare, and oil stocks have also come under considerable selling pressure.
Meanwhile, real estate stocks have moved back to the upside in recent trading after showing a notable downturn along with the broader markets. The Morgan Stanley REIT Index is currently up 0.6 percent, although it remains well off its best level of the day.
The major averages have moved roughly sideways in recent trading, stuck firmly in negative territory. The Dow is currently down 102.71 at 8,426.67, the Nasdaq is down 9.81 at 1,834.25 and the S&P 500 is down 10.87 at 916.36.
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