The New York equities markets were mixed but very close to unchanged on Tuesday even though consumer sentiment was reported to have reached a two-year low in September.
That report was the first indication of what effect the recent bad weather in the Gulf Coast area has had on what consumers in the United States are thinking.
Some analysts were not surprised at the news, and at least one noted that the worst performers this year on the S&P 500 have been those that depend on discretionary spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 percent on the day to 10,456.21, while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.2 percent to 2,116.42 and the S&P ended the day flat at 1,215.66.
Retailer Wal-Mart was down just less than 0.1 percent to $43.10 and Home Depot lost 0.1 percent to $38.39. In the fast food sector, McDonald’s declined 0.8 percent to $33.01.
Reports that new home sales were off in August resulted in losses in the home construction sector. DR Horton lost 0.2 percent to $35.50, Centex was down 0.8 percent to $63.40, KB Home fell 1.9 percent to $72, and Toll Brothers declined by 1.6 percent to $43.28.
In the oil sector, ExxonMobil was flat at $64.62 on a downgrade by JP Morgan. Chevron lost 0.1 percent to $64.18 even though it was the recipient of an upgrade, also by JP Morgan.
DVD-rental chain Movie Gallery was down 13.9 percent on the day to $11.04 after it said it would suspend dividends for the quarter in favor of paying down debt. Rival Blockbuster was also down, by 1.3 percent to $4.51, while Netflix gained 1.4 percent to $24.30.