TECH STOCKS: Jump In Consumer Confidence Boosts Markets

Stocks bounced back from earlier losses Tuesday following the release of good news on consumer confidence. The Conference Board reported that its monthly check of consumers' attitude rose to 81.3 in August from July's 77.0. Analysts say consumers, while uneasy about the dearth of jobs and current state of the economy, are still bullish on the future economic outlook.

All the major markets ended up after a light day of trading. The Dow rose 22.81 points, or 0.2%, to close at 9,340.45. The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.33 points, or 0.4%, to close at 1,770.65. The S&P 500 rose 3.02 points, or 0.30, to end at 996.73. The Nasdaq-100 tracking stock closed at $32.54, up 3 cents, or 0.1% for the day on light volume of 79 million shares. Our InformationWeek 100 rose 1.18 points, or 0.4%, to close at 269.41.

Despite the good consumer-sentiment news, analysts say the rebound may have been more about market technicalities. "With this light of volume, it's easy to have these intraday trend levels change," Chris Johnson, manager of quantitative analysis at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, told The Associated Press. "It takes less buying or selling to change the direction of the market."